Is Forever Enough
by Nicolah2009
Summary: She returns to Konoha holding terrors of her past, half of a necklace, and is assigned to work alongside her rival, Hatake Kakashi. Why does she react so oddly to Naruto, and what's her connection to the Fourth? KakashiXOC, summary inside
1. Beginning Again

**This is the first chapter to my new story, Is Forever Enough. Here's the full summary:**

Returning to the village after seven years, Raiden Namikaze, a young blonde Jounin in her twenties, is assigned to protect Sasuke and Naruto from Orochimaru and the Akatsuki along with Hatake Kakashi, with whom she's always rivaled with. But she has a mystery about her. The necklace she wears has a missing half, and she says she will never see the second half until her death. And for some reason, she reacts oddly whenever the Fourth Hokage is mentioned, and has been caught staring longingly at Naruto several times. What is this girl's deal, and how does Kakashi play into all of this? KakashiXOC

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Feet scuffling lightly along the dirt pathway leading to the Hokage temple, a small sack slung over her shoulder, Raiden Namikaze made her way through the streets of Konoha, ignoring the curious and not so subtle glances being thrown in her direction. They didn't know what business she had here, and she wasn't about to tell them.

Having left the village several years ago at the age of twenty, she was being welcomed back with open arms, and, thankfully, the title of Jounin. She'd been at that level at the time of her startling departure and Tsunade willingly restored her position.

Smiling to herself at the thought of seeing all of her old friends again, Raiden readjusted her sack on her back and lifted her chin a little, seeming to take on an air of superiority and class. She had a right to feel that way, too. Before she took her leave, she'd been one of the stronger ninja in the Hidden Leaf village. She could've taken any of the Jounin on, and now, after her travels and training, she could do so just as easily.

The Hokage temple loomed in front of her, and she stopped by its gate, staring up at the massive building that housed Lady Tsunade. She smiled to herself, pushed open the gates, and, without a glance at the guards requesting her name and purpose, strode up to the front door. There, though, those two guards caught up to her and grabbed her by the arms. She stiffened and glared venomously at each of them.

"Let go of me," she said in a low, dangerous voice.

"Who are you? And what purpose do you have in the Hokage temple?" the first of the guards, the one with dark hair, questioned, giving her arm a firm shake. She jerked her arms from their grasp and situated her bag back on her shoulder.

"My name is of no interest to you," she began, resting one hand on the door in front of her, "and I'm here to talk to Tsunade, so I suggest you leave before she gets irritated that her guards made her guest late."

They took one step back each, looking between each other confusedly, and Raiden shoved the door open, walking inside.

It was just as she remembered it, the big room in the front holding the Hokage's chair where open courts were held with the huge chandelier handing from the ceiling. She walked through the large room, remembering all of the times she'd been in there at the side of the Hokage, while he solved problems and answered questions that the public brought to him during open court days.

Up the staircase at the end of the hallway leading from the courtroom, she counted down the doors until the large mahogany doors, carved with intricate drawings, came into view. She halted outside of them, running her hand lightly over the polished wood and tracing the carvings, reminiscing her days as the Hokage's guard in the beautiful office with its wall of windows, talking with the Hokage like the old friends they'd been back then. Her heart wrenched painfully, and Raiden knocked on the door to distract herself.

A loud, "Come in!" sounded a few seconds later, and Raiden walked inside the office, shutting the door behind her as she went.

Sitting at the desk with a pile of folders in front of her and a bottle of sake resting to her right, Tsunade waved Raiden over and stood up. She flung her arms out and, walking around the desk, wrapped the blonde woman in a hug. Raiden hugged her back, laughing, happy to see her old friend. Normally, one of Tsunade's hugs would have crushed a man, but Raiden had worked under the Sannin for years, and was just as strong as she was.

"Raiden! How are you?" Tsunade asked after they'd separated, sitting back down at her desk and gesturing for Raiden to take the seat in front of her. Raiden sat down, dropped her sack on the floor, and put her hands behind her head.

"Good, good, and you?"

"Pretty good now that you're back and I'll have someone to exert some control over a few of our ninja," Tsunade replied, shuffling more papers on her desk. "I'm glad that you returned to Konoha, Raiden. The fourth would have been, too."

Raiden stiffened at the mention of the Fourth Hokage's name, this movement not going unnoticed by Tsunade. Choosing her words carefully, Tsunade went on.

"The Leaf needs you here. Orochimaru is at large, along with the Akatsuki. They pose a very large threat to everyone in the village, especially two certain young boys."

Intrigued, Raiden inquired about the two boys, already having an idea who one of them was.

"The Akatsuki is after the nine-tailed fox, and as you know it's sealed inside a young Genin named Naruto." Raiden once again bristled, but forced herself to relax and nodded for Tsunade to continue speaking. "And Orochimaru has taken an unhealthy interest in the only Uchiha left on our side, Uchiha Sasuke, another on the same team as Naruto, oddly enough. He has already administered the curse seal to his neck, and the boy is learning to use it. His sensei, Hatake Kakashi, is trying to keep it sealed away, but Uchiha is just pushing it. Kakashi believes he might go over to Orochimaru, in order to become strong enough to take on his brother."

Raiden nodded and stood up, stretching, having heard enough of Tsunade's banter to get an idea of what she was needed for. "And you want me to help out Hatake's team and protect the two Genin, am I correct?" When Tsunade nodded, Raiden picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "So what room am I staying in and when do I get to meet the little brats?"

"You will be in the same room, which I hope you'll remember, and you will be meeting them in the ramen shop in one hour. Good luck." As Raiden turned to leave, she thought she heard the Hokage mutter, "You'll need it."



Raiden stepped out of the shower, wrapping her red towel around herself and walking out of the bathroom. Her clothes, laying on the bed, consisted of a pair of blue sandals, her Jounin vest, a black shirt, and black pants, the same that nearly every Jounin wore. She touched the green vest, more memories of the times she'd worn it, those on her team that she'd fought beside, came rushing back, and she had to close her eyes to stop the flood of them. She had left the village because she'd been unable to live with what happened, but she'd gotten stronger, and could handle it now. Right?

She pulled on the clothes, leaving her Jounin vest lying on the bed and her shoes on the floor. She wanted to get a good look around her room before leaving to meet the three Genin she was supposed to be protecting—really only two, but she knew there was a girl on the team, too—and their sensei, Hatake Kakashi. She smiled at the thought of the gray-haired man, thinking of all their arguments and differences that had gotten in the way of every single mission they'd gone on together. He really did get on her nerves.

The room was just like she remembered it to be—a bed pushed up against one wall, a white bedside table next to it, barely touching the red comforter; white furniture standing out against red walls, red and white carpet swirling beneath her feet; the closet off to the side, its contents basically the same; and the picture sitting on her dresser, the one of her and her brother, smiling and playfully punching each other. She felt her chest tighten again and looked away from the photograph. She could handle it.

She went to her vanity, sat down, and looked in the mirror.

Blue eyes stared back at her from a heart-shaped face framed by long blonde hair. Her nose was small, dainty, and placed perfectly in the middle. Her mouth was thin and her chin wasn't very prominent. Her hair fell over her shoulders and down her back, a bright shade of yellow that she'd always been proud of. Her blue eyes stood out like wide oases on a pale face, but as hard and cold as ever. She knew how to hide her emotions well, and only one person had been able to bring her feelings out into the open.

Her hand reached up and touched the silver necklace hanging there, resting on her chest. The charm on the end of it was only half of a whole circle. It was jagged where it had been cut down the middle, with only one of two hearts showing. Merely half of the words made no sense if one didn't know of the whole.

May the 

_Between_

_While tbe _

_Are one from_

Raiden clutched it in her fist for a moment, thinking of the person who had the other half of the necklace, and how it would always be with him in the place he was now. She sniffed and grabbed her brush, attacking her wet blonde locks with a fury to distract herself from the necklace and those sad thoughts that came with it.

She tugged all the tangles out and swept it back into a messy French braid. She tied her headband over her forehead, pulled on her shoes, and picked up the vest, still refusing to put it on. She felt weird about wearing it, and didn't want to until she had to, which would be about two seconds before she got to the ramen shop and Hatake made some snide comment about her being back.

Closing her bedroom door silently behind her, she walked without a sound down the hallway, effortlessly keeping quiet. She walked down the stairs, out through the front doors of the temple, and burst into a jog, wanting to get there before Hatake did and make fun of him for it. She was always early, he was always late. She really didn't have anything to worry about for that reason, but there was always a chance he would like to be on time to something.

It wasn't long before she reached the street that the ramen shop was on, and she slowed to a walk, estimating she had about half an hour before she needed to be there. No doubt Hatake's team was already waiting for him, but hey, who said she had to join the brats before he got there?

She stepped into a small shop that she'd used to visit before with her brother. They had spent much money in the little shop buying useless trinkets and giving them to each other. In fact, Raiden had bought the necklace she was wearing in this very store, the only one the owner had ever had, and the only one he ever would. She'd been alone that day, wanting to surprise the someone she was planning on giving the other half to. The shop owner was understanding that day, and allowed her to have it for a cheaper price than usual. After all, she was a figure of authority.

Raiden greeted the owner, Hitsomo, who met her sudden entrance with great surprise and joy. He rushed around the counter, wrung her hand, and told her she could have anything she wanted in the store. Smiling, she nodded, knowing it would insult the man to refuse the offer, and set to the task of picking something.

She wanted a bargain, so she knew it would have to be over her price range at the moment. Her fingers ran over the necklaces hanging off a rack, the bracelets next to them. She touched each little trinket, and smiled at the ones she could remember buying twins of. She stopped on a fan, a dainty red and white fan, with the Konoha symbol engraved on its handle. It was intricately designed, and reminded her of the person she missed the most. She was halfway to saying she wanted the fan when she bit back the thought and reminded herself it was better to stray from things that made her think of him.

Instead, she took two identical ankle bracelets meant for friends to give to each other. They were a small price, but she'd lost all want for an expensive item after seeing the fan, and she knew they'd come in handy sometime.

"There you go!" Hitsomo said happily, handing her the bracelets in a little bag. She smiled and took it.

"Thanks, Hitsomo. I'll be back real soon."

As she walked out of the store, she heard the old man say, "I'll bet on it!"

Deciding that now was the time to put on her vest, Raiden shrugged the green thing over her shoulders and left it open, tucking the bag with the bracelets into an inside pocket. She could see the ramen shop, and made out three figures that were obviously children sitting in the row of seats. She slowed her pace, her chin still held high with an air of authority. She ran one hand over her messy braid, tugged lightly at the end of it, and stopped at the front of the ramen shop.

The bell jingled and she heard the old man say, "Come on in!"

Aloof, she pushed the curtains away from her face and walked in, taking a place two seats down from the team of three Genin eating up bowls of ramen.

The girl had pink hair, bright green eyes, and a sort of shy demeanor about her. She didn't exude confidence, but she wasn't without it, either. Raiden noted how trim and well muscled she was, and figured that the young kunoichi trained hard to keep up with her teammates.

The boy to her right was glaring down into his bowl of ramen, taking small bites every few moments. He had a head full of black hair that was pushed off his face slightly by his headband. His navy blue shirt was traditionally high-collared and the Uchiha fan was bestowed on the back. He had white shorts, wraps on his legs, and every movement he made screamed at how talented he was. Raiden snorted; this was the Uchiha, and like the typical Uchiha, he was cocky and over confident. But there was something about him, something that separated him from all of the other of his clan she'd ever met. She'd been there when the news that his entire clan had been murdered, and knew that he was the sole survivor, save for his older brother Itachi. Yes, this boy, Uchiha Sasuke, had something else in his demeanor that made him different from everyone around him.

And then, on the pink-haired girl's left, was the blonde-haired boy that made her breath in sharply.

He was gobbling up ramen at such a rapid pace Raiden couldn't really tell when he finished one bowl and moved onto the next one. But that wasn't what had startled her. It was just…he'd grown so _much_ since the last time she'd seen him, and from what she could tell, he was resembling…well…_him_…more and more as he got older. His blonde hair stuck up oddly, as it always had, and his blue eyes eagerly stared down at each new bowl of ramen that was thrust towards him. He wore an orange jumpsuit that looked a little bulky, but whatever suited him.

This was, she knew, Uzumaki Naruto, the orphan boy who had the Kyuubi sealed within his belly. She did not know how far along he was in figuring out how to use the demon's chakra as his own, or if he could control it at all, but she knew just by looking at him that he was going to be great someday. If, of course, he hadn't gotten that stupid stubborn, loud-mouthed streak in him, too.

"Sakura!" the blonde Naruto shrieked, and Raiden winced. He had gotten that streak in him. Damn. "Why aren't you eating your ramen?"

The girl was apparently called Sakura, and she answered him in a much quieter tone that Raiden couldn't hear, but only because she wasn't trying to. She was noticing that the old man was stealing glances at her as if he were attempting to figure out if it was really her.

She smiled at him and nodded, and he nearly dropped the spoon he was using to stir the ramen. He hastened to fix her a bowl of her favorite ramen and handed it to her, mumbling about it being "on the house." She smiled, picked up her chopsticks, and dug in just as quickly as Naruto, but only less sloppily as he did. In a moment, she was on her second bowl, then her third, and was earning stares from the three Genin two seats down.

She stopped after eating her third bowl and placed down the chopsticks, holding up her hand to signal that she'd eaten her full and would like a glass of water, please. She sipped on her water, watching the Genin out of the corner of her eye. The three were discussing something, and even Naruto's voice was lowered to a quiet tone.

And then, she saw movement on the street that just seemed to draw her attention. It was a gray-haired man in a Jounin vest with a small orange book in front of his face. She knew who this was.

Her stomach churned with nervous anxiety and distaste, and she stood up quickly, too quickly, for the Genin looked her way again. She glared at them, brushed past the curtains, and walked the opposite way that Hatake was walking. She didn't think she could face him right now, not when she'd just gotten back. Maybe tomorrow. She'd deal with Tsunade later.

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Instead of walking around the village that she already knew so well and seeing what was new, Raiden decided to go to the training field she'd spent so many hours on with her brother. She walked through the woods slowly, taking her time and enjoying the scenery. Not that she hadn't seen enough trees and bushes and flowers in her travels for those years, really. She grinned at the thought, and stepped into the clearing where she'd trained during her days in Konoha.

There were the three stumps, funnily enough, that she had never been tied to, and had watched as her teammates had been. She'd gotten the bells.

She remembered being with her team, consisting of Kei, a skilled weapons specialist, and Benjirou, who leaned towards element jutsu like fire and earth. Kei, Ben, and Raiden had been an almost unbeatable team during their days working together, until the Kyuubi attack. Both Kei and Benjirou had been killed protecting an injured Raiden from further harm. Guilt still reigned with Raiden, and she knew she would never be able to escape it.

In a sudden fury, Raiden rushed at the three stumps and began attacking the one in the middle, beating it with her fists and lashing out with her feet. With each hit came a dull thud that echoed in the clearing along with her grunts of exertion. She continued to pound the stump until she was out of breath and sweat was running down her face.

She placed a hand on the stump and leaned against it, doubled over and breathing heavily. Beating the wood had not helped at all, only made the pain in her chest worsen, every breath coming with a burst of invisible white-hot needles stabbing her heart. She swallowed, trying to stem the hurt, but it didn't go away.

Raiden pushed off the stump and screamed a raging howl, flinging her fist at the wood with such power that it went through the stump, the sound of splintering wood cracking around the clearing. She slowly withdrew her fist, feeling slightly better now that the offensive stump was properly damaged. But her chest still ached dully, and she turned away from the tall chunk of wood now with a large hole in it. She needed to get away for a little while, but she had a job to do, and Tsunade would not be happy if she slacked off on it. Deciding that spending the rest of the day and night in her bedroom would be the best plan of action, Raiden began walking slowly down the stretch of the field, heading towards town, her hands shoved into her pockets habitually.

On the way, she studied the trees around her with vague curiosity, noticing the slight changes in them since the last time she'd been in Konoha. The trees were taller, with more gaping holes and gashes in their bark than she remembered. Several of the branches were cracked and broken, and even a few whole trees were missing. Raiden took all of this in a sturdy wonder, trying to imagine what could have caused such damage. Probably a sparring match gone wrong, or a flat-out rivalry fight. She shivered pleasantly at the thought of a good tousle.

Her feet carried her at a turtle's pace back into the village, and she found herself on the same street as the ramen shop. Again. And, as she peered around a few people in front of her to get a good look at the shop, the blonde Naruto was in there. Again. Did this kid live off ramen or what?  
Feeling like a good bowl herself, she slipped past the curtains and took the same seat she'd had earlier. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Naruto was on his fourth bowl of ramen. She smirked, knowing that even if he could eat ten more, she would still out-eat him. Gesturing for three bowls to be placed in front of her, Raiden picked up her chopsticks and dug in, devouring all three ramen meals in a few moments.

She patted her stomach hungrily and ordered some more. The old man chuckled and muttered something to himself that Raiden ignored. So what if she ate more than Naruto? He was just a kid, for crying out loud, and she didn't have any use for the comparison between herself and him.

Three more bowls later, Raiden finally motioned that she was through and would like her usual glass of water. Her stomach felt like it was bulging, but it was worth it. She hadn't had this good of food since she'd left Konoha, and it was nice to be able to make up for it in only two sittings. Plus, Naruto was sneaking suspicious looks in her direction every now and again, and she found she was enjoying his natural curiosity very much. He had gotten that streak, too.

The curtain was pushed aside as someone else walked into the ramen shop and sat down between Raiden and the young blonde boy. Gray hair standing on end as usual, mask pulled up to cover his face and headband pulled down on one side to block the use of the Sharingan, Hatake tucked his orange book into his pocket and folded his hands on the counter in front of him.

Raiden eyed him expectantly, but wasn't disappointed either when he pretended not to see her. She was used to him acting that way. Ever since they were kids…

She sipped idly at her glass of water, completely ignoring Hatake's presence. Let him feel like he had the upper hand. That was just the way he was, always acting superior to everyone else around him. She honestly didn't care if he acted stupidly towards her return—his opinion didn't matter to her.

Finally, as if he were getting tired of the slowly growing tension in the small ramen shop, Hatake sighed heavily and turned his head in a wearisome manner. "So, when did you get back into town, Raiden?"  
Smirking now that he'd finally acknowledged her, Raiden set down her glass of water with a firm thud and swiveled in her seat to face him. She threw on the demeanor of being positively cool and collected. "Oh, this morning, early."

Hatake nodded. "Hmm. That's nice. I assume that you recognized—"

Raiden interrupted him. "Yes, thank you very much, Hatake. I don't need your reminder." Her icy blue eyes bore into his lazy gray one. "Has anything interesting and well-worth my time been going on with you?"

Hatake shrugged one shoulder. "Not really. Just the usual, got a new team, trained them, didn't finish the Chunin exams."

"And why would that be?" Raiden persisted, knowing that there had to be a reason behind Hatake's team not making it through the exams. He had never before passed a team, and if they'd made it to the Chunin exams, they had to be skilled.

"Oh, Orochimaru attacked the village and killed the Third, is all," Hatake answered, a hint of irritation trickling into his voice for the first time. "Not as if you would have heard about it on your…travels."

Biting the inside of her lip to keep from snapping back, Raiden replied, "I had heard about the Third's murder. I'm rather remorseful I didn't get to see the old man before he died." She shrugged. "Oh, well. I spent enough time with him beforehand, anyway."

At this, Naruto, who had been intently listening to the conversation, jumped in, unwanted. "Are you trying to say the old man wasn't worth your time?!"

Raiden chuckled softly. "Is this one of your pupils, Hatake? He needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut before someone shuts it for him."

"Is that a threat?" Naruto demanded, standing up and clenching his fists. Raiden noticed he was taller, too, and she could see more of the fox in him.

"Merely an observation, kid." She turned her attention back to Hatake. "So, is he your student? I assume he is—he seems to be the complete opposite of you, though. Aren't pupils supposed to take after their teachers?"  
"In this case," Hatake said, putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder to calm him down a little bit, "Naruto would be the exception. Besides, my other student Sasuke takes after me more. He's a bit more…mindful of his moves."

"Ah." Raiden picked her water up again and downed the rest of it. She wiped her lips with the back of her sleeve and stood up. "Well, then. Hatake, I will see you in the morning." Hatake looked slightly confused, and she feigned innocence. "Oh, I guess Tsunade didn't tell you. I'm going to be helping out with your team from now on. You, and Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, if I'm correct." She smiled sweetly, too sweetly. "I think we're going to have so much fun, don't you?"  
As she flounced off, feeling triumphant in her at Hatake, she heard the Jounin mutter under his breath, "Wonderful. Just wonderful."

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**Hehe, I'm going to have fun with Kakashi and Raiden in this story. Yay!!!!! Review, please, and tell me what you think. I hope you all like it very much, maybe as much as my first two stories**

**Luv ya**

**Nicola**


	2. Out With Team Kakashi

**Okay, this is the second chapter, and you get a little more insight into Raiden's attitude. I know I've only gotten one review so far, but I'm hoping I'll get more from my other readers, so please review!**

**Nicola**

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Yawning widely, Raiden threw the bedclothes off and swung her legs off the side of the bed. Her alarm hadn't even gone off yet and she was awake, ready for her first day out as the second sensei to Hatake's team. Always having been a morning person, she didn't hesitate to walk quite consciously into the bathroom and turn on the shower. Once the water was warm enough, she stripped herself of her pajamas and stepped into the steamy box.

She let the hot water spray her mussed blonde hair and her strong, broad shoulders. It didn't sting—nothing really hurt anymore. She could only remember one thing that could still physically and mentally bother her, and she was not about to think about it right now. Right now, she needed to concentrate on making it through today, with the arrogant, oblivious, utterly irritating team. And that was only Hatake; she didn't know enough of the three children—except maybe for Sasuke, because she could understand what he'd gone thorugh—to judge how they would act. Hopefully Hatake hadn't spilled the beans about her to his team, but she didn't think she could count on his annoying blonde student.

Once she was satisfied that she was clean and relaxed, Raiden turned off the shower and stepped out, drying and then wrapping her towel around her body. She padded into her bedroom; feet cushioned by the red and white swirling carpet, she opened her closet. She stared disdainfully at the contents—they were basically the same thing: black shirts, black pants, green vest. Black sandals, and the occasional out-of-place jeans or skirt or nice-looking t-shirt. She sighed, grabbed a t-shirt, a pair of black jeans, and her only set of flip-flops (black, of course) and changed quickly.

As she pulled her hair back into a ponytail, her alarm went off, and she hastened to turn it off. She smacked the snooze button, picked her headband from her bedside table, and tied it around her arm. Satisfied that she looked just fine for her first day out—certainly she wouldn't have in the dumb green vest—she slipped her flip-flops on and headed out of her bedroom.

Outside of the gates around the Hokage temple, Raiden found that, as always, she was way too early to meet anyone. Oh, well. She might as well go walk around for a little bit to see what had changed, what was going on, and all that other good stuff.

In her casual wear, she received several double takes from those she passed by, but she ignored them. She honestly didn't care what they thought about her attire, or that she wore her headband with such a casual outfit—definitely not honorable, nor ninja clothes. She preferred dressing for comfort rather than the opinions of others, and therefore ignored the looks she got.

Of course, there was the flip-flop thing, and in the off chance that someone decided they really hated her and wanted to chase her to her death, she'd have to ditch them, because they didn't make running, or fighting, any easier. Maybe she should've worn sandals….oh, who cared anyway. She could fight barefoot just as well as she could fight with her ninja sandals on.

Spying a fruit stand, and feeling her stomach grumble in protest to her skipping breakfast, she made a beeline for the oranges. Biting her lip, she dug in her pocket for some sort of money, change, anything, and came up empty. With a sad look at the orange she'd picked out, she moved to put it back, but someone pushed her arm back and held out a bill. She looked up at the person who had offered to pay for her miniscule breakfast, she scowled. Hatake.

"I am not going to take any money from you," she snapped, reaching to put the orange back for a second time. And, for the second time, Hatake prevented her from doing it.

"Hey, just because I'm paying for yours doesn't mean I'm not going to get an orange of my own," he replied, and she reluctantly stepped back for him to pick out an orange for himself. Vaguely, as he plucked through the large pile, she wondered why he was out so early in the first place, and why he had offered to pay for her fruit. She shrugged it off as some sort of condolence or welcome back to Konoha or whatever and waited for him to get his change from the man running the stand. He held out his hand, in what was his offer for a stroll together, and she shrugged and accepted.

As they walked down the slowly crowding streets of Konoha, she peeled the skin off of her orange and bit into the juicy innards. She licked a small droplet of juice that was trying to escape her lips and swallowed the bite she'd taken. Beside her, Hatake was doing basically the same thing, though he was only sucking all of the juices out and throwing the dried pieces of orange on the ground.

It didn't surprise her that he'd lowered his mask to eat the orange—she'd grown up with him, and had seen his face before. Several times, in fact, considering the amount of time they'd spent together as kids, as teenagers, until she'd left. They had always fought relentlessly with each other, but had got along outside their differences pretty well, all things considered.

After a few minutes, Raiden stole a glance over at the Copy ninja and saw that he'd put his mask back in place, all finished with his orange. She looked down at the pathetic piece left in her hand, threw it onto the ground, and brushed her hands off, disgusted with how sticky they were. She hadn't realized it, but they were walking towards the river and the little bridge that she'd been told to meet the team at.

"You know you still owe me the money for the orange."

She groaned. She should've expected this, coming from Hatake and all. It wouldn't be the first time she'd had to pay him back for something. Hell, on her twelfth birthday, he'd demanded the few dollars he'd paid for her card and present. That had been when he was still under the training of the Fourth, before the Hokage's reign. She shuddered and pushed back another flood of memories.

No, she wouldn't think about that right now.

"Of course, Hatake. I wouldn't expect anything less from you," she stated calmly, and shoved one hand into the pocket of her jeans. "I'll pay you back as soon as I come into some sort of cash. Which could be a while, actually."

Hatake shrugged. "I don't care. As long as I get the money back." He scoffed lightly. "Oh, yeah, and you still owe me from your last birthday."

"What, you mean the last birthday I was here for? Yeah, right, Hatake."

He looked curiously at her with that one eye of his, but didn't reply. She knew he was thinking about the last birthday she had been around for, her twentieth one, and about the gift he'd given her. What she considered as a cheap piece of jewelry he'd claimed to cost a good bit of money. So she still refused to pay him back, much less admit that it was an expensive bracelet. Yeah, right.

She glared at him out of the corner of her eye as they walked onto the bridge and stopped at the middle. She leaned against the railing, throwing her head back to look up at the bright blue sky and watch the puffy white clouds pass slowly in front of the sun. Hatake was on her right, also staring at the sky. They stood there in companionable silence for a few moments until she pushed off the railing and jumped onto it, using her chakra to balance herself out on the small strip of wood. Knowing what she was going to do, Hatake rolled his eyes, but she ignored him and took off her t-shirt, leaving her in only her sports bra and jeans.

With a happy hoot, she launched herself off the railing and fell head-first into the water. Thankfully they'd been getting the right amount of rain lately, so the water was deep enough for her dive, and she didn't crack her hands on any rocks. She swam underwater for a moment, her blonde hair coming out of its loose ponytail and billowing around her. She pumped up to the surface, her face breaking first, and took a deep breath, grinning from ear to ear.

Hatake's face was not a very happy one, seeing as he was, as always, left on the bridge holding her discarded t-shirt. "So is that why you refused to wear your Jounin vest?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"Nope, sorry, Hatake," she said easily, going under for a moment to smooth her hair back. When she came back up, he was looking strangely at her. "What?"  
"Nothing," he muttered, and she looked down at her torso. She didn't see anything unusual there. Chest, bra, necklace, toned stomach—of which she was proud—nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe he was just intrigued at how good-looking she was now. She gave a short laugh and swam to the edge of the bridge.

"What's the matter, Hatake? Can't stop your dirty mind from ogling?" she teased, running a hand through her now tangled hair.

Hatake rolled his one eye. "Always the same, Raiden. Always the same." He shook his head as if he couldn't believe her. "And no, I wasn't looking at you for that reason. I was looking at your necklace."

She bristled instinctively and her hand went up to grasp at her half of the necklace. "What's wrong with my necklace, Hatake? Did you think I would've gotten rid of it after I left?" Her face twisted into a nasty snarl, and she growled, "You must have thought wrong, then. You know damn well how important this thing is to me."  
Hatake merely shrugged one shoulder lazily. "Yeah, but still, it seems to me like you might try to move on from that. After all, it was years and years ago. Twelve, I think. Maybe thirteen." He sighed as if this was all just too much to talk about. "Anyway, get out of there and get dried off before my team gets here. I'd like them to have an inkling of respect for you at the very least. Although, I don't expect much."

The snarl never leaving her face, Raiden heaved herself easily out of the water and leapt nimbly onto the bridge, where she lay down on her back to dry out in the warm rays of the sun. She heard Hatake sigh heavily again and felt her t-shirt drop next to her, she growled under her breath about how it would get dirty now, and picked it up, draping it over her eyes to protect them from the sunlight.

She felt their chakra's before she heard their footsteps, and even then, only two of them walked loudly enough for her attuned ears to detect. The one who was walking completely silently, she knew, was the Uchiha boy. He was already skilled at such a young age, but she had already felt him out to be arrogant and self-absorbed. She refused to sit up, though, or take the t-shirt off of her face. She waited for Hatake's usual sigh, but she didn't hear it, and instead heard two gasps of surprise and one "Hn."

"Kakashi-sensei is early?!" That was the blonde, Naruto. His grating, irritating voice was easily recognizable. "What's up with that?!"

"Wow, Kakashi-sensei, since when do you like to be on time?" the girl, Sakura, asked. Raiden heard a soft rustle of cloth, suggesting that Hatake had shrugged.

"Just today, really. I had to make sure someone got here on time," Hatake's voice said, and Raiden laughed unwillingly. It was an unstoppable reflex.

It seemed like the three teammates had only just noticed her lying there on the bridge, out in the sun, a few droplets of water still clinging to her skin. She whipped the t-shirt off of her face and sat up, stretching and yawning. She'd lost her hair band in the water, and was now without anything to tie her blonde locks back with. Absently, she picked through the knots in her hair with her fingers. She felt the Genin's eyes on her but she purposefully ignored them and continued to comb out her hair.

Hatake cleared his throat pointedly, and she still ignored him, standing up and beginning to weave her wet hair into a long braid. He cleared his throat again, earning no response, and finally, after a few more suggestive coughs, lifted his hand to whack her on the back of the head. She caught his hand before it had been in the air for more than a millisecond.

"I heard you, Hatake. You need to practice some patience," she said sternly, but mildly, as she finished her braid. She tore a piece of cloth from the bottom of her t-shirt and used it to tie off the end of her braid. Once that was done—the cloth securely knotted—she turned with a cold, hard gaze to the Genin in front of her. The girl visibly flinched, and Raiden raised an eyebrow. "Are these your students, Hatake? They look weak to me."

Again, the pink-haired girl flinched, and Raiden saw something new in her open eyes: fear, and pain. Raiden ignored it and looked to Sasuke, who was glaring in her direction, and then to Naruto, who was literally seething with fury.

"I am not weak!" the blonde roared, and Raiden snorted.

"Yeah, right, kid. Come on, prove it." She put one hand on her hip and motioned for him to come to her. "Attack me. Hit me."

Not one to turn down a challenge, the exuberant boy ran full-frontal at her, his fist pulled back, ready to spring. The moment he launched that fist at her, she merely stepped to the side, and used his force as leverage to send him flying towards the other side of the bridge. He yelped in surprise and landed with a dull thud. She turned around, looking at him with a smug smirk on her pretty features.

"The day you can hit me," she taunted, absently playing with the end of her braid, "will be the day that I admit you are not weak."

Looking like his pride was hurt, but a familiar determination flaring in his blue eyes, he nodded. "You got it."

Behind her, Raiden heard someone scoff and chuckle darkly. She turned to face the Uchiha boy, whose hands were shoved into his pockets, his eyes closed, and his expression superior.

"Anyone could tell that Naruto's weak just by looking at him," he declared importantly, and Sakura's eyes seemed to sparkle. Raiden began to realize why Orochimaru had picked this boy to place the curse seal on. "He never thinks about what he does, he just does it. That's his main problem, among others."

Naruto strode up and stood in front of Raiden, his fists clenched and his whole body shaking. "You take that back, you big jerk!"

Sasuke laughed as if that were the dumbest thing he's ever heard. "Yeah, right, dobe. I can't take back the truth."

As Naruto roared with fury and stepped into a flat-out run, all prepared to try to bash his teammate's head in, Raiden grabbed the collar of his shirt and, in one swift movement, sent him over the bridge and into the cold water below. He hit the surface with a splash, and went under. She looked over at Hatake.

"He does know how to swim, right? Because I really don't feel like going into the water to get him after I just got all dried off."

Hatake nodded. "He knows how to swim. But I usually don't respond to his temper by throwing him into the river, Raiden. Normally, I just hold him back and tell him to shut up and seethe in silence." He shrugged. "It works."

"Well, I like my method better," she said easily, without missing a beat. "And seeing as I rank higher than you in this case, my way goes."

Sakura looked on in amazement. "She outranks you, sensei? That's impossible! You're, like, the strongest ninja in the village, other than the Hokage."

Raiden laughed. "Honey, you need to realize that there are stronger ninja than your sensei out there. I've known Hatake all my life and I've been the better of him for almost as long."

"Wow," Sakura whispered, and Sasuke gave another "Hn."

Turning to look at the Uchiha, Raiden put on a rather intimidating face and spoke calmly and clearly. "You're Uchiha Sasuke. I could tell even without recognizing your face or the fan on your back. You have that wretched Uchiha pride and arrogance, and as far as I'm concerned, you don't bring that into your team. I don't care what you've been through, or what happened to this person or that person. I just know that you'd better treat your teammate's right or you're going to regret it in the very near future." The last words came out in a dangerous hiss, and she turned her back to the Uchiha boy, who looked slightly stricken.

Naruto was climbing back onto the bridge, dripping wet, and in process of taking off his jacket to dry himself quicker. She offered him a small shrug of her shoulder before looking expectantly at Hatake.

"Don't I get an introduction?"

Sighing, Hatake put down the orange book he'd been devouring. "Alright, everyone. This is Raiden Namikaze, the new addition to our team, and you can consider her as a second sensei of sorts. You will refer to her as Namikaze-sensei, surname only because of respect." He glanced at Raiden for a moment. "You have not earned her respect, and until you do, it's Namikaze-sensei."

Sakura seemed to draw all this in like a sponge, and Raiden realized that she was quickly storing all of this information in a safe spot in her mind. With those quick skills and that ability to pick up on necessary tidbits of information, Sakura would make an asset to any team. Every team needed a smart member.

Naruto was still grumbling about being thrown into the river, and something about Raiden not deserving any respect from them. Raiden figured he'd have to be reminded a few times of where his place was in this world. And Sasuke…he, too, had taken the information in quickly, and though she knew he didn't think of her as a figure of esteem, he would follow what his sensei told him. To an extent, that is. She knew he wouldn't think of her as a second sensei—just another adult trying to tell him what to do with his life. Rebellious brat.

Forcing a smile on her face, but her cold eyes never changing, Raiden put her hands on her hips and surveyed the team she was supposed to be protecting. Naruto certainly didn't look like the sort of child a demon would be sealed in. He didn't exude confidence or seem dangerous in any way. He was more or less goofy and wild, just like…well, she wouldn't go there. The only thing that gave him away was the whiskers on his face, three on each cheek.

"Alright," she said finally, and turned to Hatake. "What was your game plan for today?"  
"Well," Hatake began, once again reluctantly placing his book in his pocket, "I had planned on teaming them up for sparring matches, but if that doesn't fit your expectations or standards, you're welcome to change it." Anyone else would have taken it as a simple statement, but Raiden heard the sarcasm in his words and glared.

"No, it's a fine plan. I need time to sit back and watch them work, anyway." She moved to the side of the bridge, motioning for Hatake to lead the way. "On to the training field, I suppose?"

vvv

At the training field, the three Genin and their gray-haired sensei stood around the stump in the middle, looking at the gaping, splintered hole now pushed through it. Raiden didn't say a word, just stood on the outskirts of the field, but she caught Hatake's short glance in her direction. She stayed stoic, not moving a muscle or hinting that she'd had anything to do with the broken stump, as his pupils wondered who could've done it.

"Maybe it was bushy brows overdoing it again," Naruto suggested, but Sakura shook her head.

"No, he's been taking it carefully since Tsunade-sama has agreed to perform the surgery on him." Naruto nodded at this, and studied the hole again.

"It would take a pretty hard punch to do something like this," Sasuke suggested, his hands still in his pockets. "You see how the wood is splintered? It wasn't hesitant, or awkward. Whoever did this knew what they were doing."

Raiden nodded to herself—this kid really did think things through. But that didn't make her like him any more.

She watched as the team split into two groups—Naruto and Hatake, and, probably the most stupid of all, Sakura and Sasuke. The poor girl didn't stand a chance against the Uchiha boy, and he was constantly taunting her. Raiden could barely stand to watch how he beat her to a pulp physically and emotionally, so she focused on Naruto.

His fighting style was completely different than what she would have guessed it to be. It was so straightforward, so determined, his sheer resolve to do his best and succeed at it coming through every movement he made. She had originally thought he would be stealthier, less easy to anger, a thinker, like…well, someone she was close to. But he wasn't. He was so…eager to hit his target, so focused on what he was doing that he couldn't concentrate on what his opponent was doing. He needed work in that area, and so far, Hatake was literally kicking his butt.

Raiden shook her head and looked at the grass beneath her. She plucked a blade out of the dirt and twirled it between her fingers, her mind far off in another time. She remembered the promise she made, one of the last things he'd asked of her. And she'd failed him, failed him miserably, stood back and watched as all of his hopes and dreams were crushed, all because of her, and all because of her grief and misplaced anger.

There was nothing she could do about it now—the damage was done. There was no possible way for her to fix what she'd broken, and whenever she saw him again, she knew he'd be horribly disappointed in her. Her hand went up to her necklace and she fingered it gently, having already memorized the feel of the engraved words. Her heart tugged viciously and she forced those thoughts that were creeping into her mind back behind her mental wall. Now was not the time for sad reveries.

It wasn't long before the training session was over, and the five were heading back towards the main part of Konoha. Raiden walked behind, slowly dragging her feet back towards the place that held so many haunting recollections. She didn't really want to go back to her bedroom, but that seemed the only part of Konoha that she could actually get away to, to be able to think about things she couldn't when around other people. Maybe, if she could just sneak away from them, she could…

"Thinking about something?"  
Hatake's voice cut through her little plot and she inwardly cussed, irritated. She looked icily at Hatake, and licked her lips. "Nothing that you need to know about, Hatake. You haven't earned the right into my thoughts."

This didn't seem to affect Hatake the way she'd hoped, but she did catch the slightest flinch. "Yes, you're right. I lost that privilege years ago. At least, in your eyes I did."

She didn't show the slightest sign of having any regrets about that, but she did glare at him. "You shouldn't have done what you did. You shouldn't have pulled me away like that. I'll never trust you again, you know that."  
"Of course I do," Hatake sighed, rubbing his masked chin. "You'll never let me forget it."

"Damn right I won't."

They walked in silence again, and she completely ignored him, going back to her own thoughts. She wanted to be back in her room at the temple, brushing through her frizzy hair and fighting back the constant threat of tears she'd been plagued with for over twelve years. The constant battle within her had numbed greatly over her leave from Konoha, but sometimes she could still feel the tugs of guilt and pain, and she would quickly brush over them with thoughts of fighting and technique. That usually worked, and since what had happened twelve years ago, she'd become calmer, colder, and definitely had better control over her emotions.

Hatake took out his orange book and began to read, and Raiden wondered how many times he'd read that damn thing. Probably a thousand times over. That was just how he was, constant in his own habits that he'd picked up from his deceased teammate. She scoffed at the very idea of becoming like her teammates—she'd loved them to death, but they were gone now, and she'd let them go forever ago. It must have really been tough on Hatake when his friend died—otherwise, he wouldn't have changed so much.

Raiden cracked her fingers and sighed, thinking again of running off and heading back to her room. She could find solace there that she couldn't get anywhere else—no one, not even Hatake, understood. Sure, the Uchiha boy might have an inkling of it, but he despised what was left of his family. There was no way she could connect with him. The only person she'd ever been able to confide in was gone, and now she had to live without him. The only thing she had left of him she kept with her at all times, and she never, ever took it off.

They soon reached the village, and Raiden split off from the group, heading for the Hokage temple. She didn't explain her departure, just left with a promise to be back in the morning for another training session. As her feet carried her at a flat-out run towards the temple, she struggled against the flood of tears threatening to spill over. Once she got into her room she could cry, but if being around Hatake and his team was going to cause this reaction ever day, it would have to stop. Either that or she'd have to get stronger, more resolved.

She found the refuge she was looking for in her bedroom, where she shut and locked the doors, threw the blinds closed, and sat on the floor at the end of her bed, staring at the photograph in her hands. He'd been so vibrant, so kind and determined and loyal to his village. And talented, too, a literal genius. She'd loved growing up in his shadow, and though he'd been so much older than her, about fourteen years, she'd still felt close to him. He'd been her everything back then, the only family she'd had. And now he was gone, too. Her parents, and then him. And here she was, all by herself, in the room that had been right next to his, trying not to think of him though it was inevitable.

An idea made its way into her head to go into his bedroom, but she almost immediately vetoed it. It would only hurt twenty tines worse to go into that familiar room and touch his untouched possessions, blow the dust off of his dresser, smooth out the bedcovers that she knew were still unmade, sift through the closet that consisted of a menagerie of clothes. But she felt a longing pulling her to the room, a longing to go into one of the only two pieces left of him. He had never been one to keep his room spotlessly clean—he'd always been too busy training or being a sensei or having fun with his sister and his…she couldn't say wife, they hadn't been married. But his closest thing to a wife, whose name also stung to think.

As her mind formed the picture of the woman, the form of Naruto wiggled its way next to her. Raiden realized that they had eyes the same shade of blue, and had the same fierce look in their eyes. She smiled a little, thinking how wonderful it would've been for them to have met.

She shook those thoughts out of her head, though, and set her coveted photograph down. She remembered the day before he'd gone. It had been a day of hard times, hard decisions, and one very, very nice moment. She remembered Hatake coming into her room—of course, he'd been Kakashi to her back then—and telling her everything was going to be just fine, no matter what _he_ decided to do. That had been really the only time she'd heard true and blatant emotion in Hatake's voice, and she'd told him that.

He'd lowered his mask to give her a genuine smile, and…

With a heavy sigh, Raiden turned to the present, refusing once again to dwell on the past. She clambered up onto her bed, lay back on the pillows, and stared at the ceiling. It may have been only mid-afternoon, but she didn't plan on leaving her room until later tonight, when all of the other Jounin would be out and about.

* * *

**Yay! second chapter done! Okay, this one was focused more around Kakashi's team, but soon it'll be more on the Jounin and how they react around Raiden, hence the next chapter I'm writing, lol. So...enjoy, and please send me some reviews!  
Luv ya**

**Nicola**


	3. Jounin GetTogether

**Okie doke, here's the third chapter, and I think you'll like it. I had fun with the ending, adn the next chapter I'm going to have even MORE fun with! Yay! **

**Nicola**

* * *

Raiden threw her hands up in the air as she surveyed the contents of her closet. Did she have anything besides ninja clothes?! Come on!

Frustrated, she flipped through the black shirts and black pants hanging off the railing in the closet, searching for something that would be remotely good enough to wear out with the other Jounin. They were all meeting at the bar, and she didn't figure they'd be dressed in their green vests with their kunai pouches if they were gonna go off drinking. She scoffed irritably at the idea of getting drunk and pausing her annoyed flicking on the hanger of the nicest shirt she owned.

With a shrug, she pulled it off the hanger, and tugged a set of jean shorts out with it, too. The shirt was white, of course, made of thin, skin-hugging fabric. It had a small red design on the lower back, and on the bottoms of the short sleeves. She pulled it on over her damp hair, hauled the shorts up over her hips, and set to taming her wild mane.

She'd been cordially invited earlier that evening, when she'd been moping around in her room like a heartsick teenager or a widowed old woman. The interruption—made by Hatake, of course—had brought her from her reverie, and she'd welcomed it, but hadn't acted so kindly when she opened the door to find Hatake standing there. He didn't ask to come in, just requested her presence at the bar for a sort of welcome-back get together with the other Jounin. She'd accepted, but declined the need for an escort—she could take care of herself, thank you very much.

With a grim smile, she thought of Hatake's face when she had told him she would rather go by herself. He'd looked a little insulted, and it had made her day to see him disgruntled by her response.

She thought about the other Jounin that were going to be there—Iruka would, along with Asuma, Kurenai (she wondered if they'd gotten together yet), Gai, and Genma. It looked like it was going to be a fun night, seeing as she would be the only available woman there (she knew Asuma wouldn't let anyone near Kurenai, even if he wouldn't admit it), surrounded by tough, well-muscled men.

They'd all probably changed in the past six years. She was expecting it, really, even if Hatake hadn't made one single shift in his attitude or appearance. Sure, he was probably still good-looking as always under that mask, maybe a little more manly, but it wasn't that big of a difference. She figured that the rest of the Jounin had changed at least a little bit since she'd left, and she was looking forward to seeing all her old comrades.

Once she was satisfied that her hair looked fine—laying flat, straight, and elegant over her shoulders—she hooked her thumb in the pocket of her shorts and set out, heading down the hallway towards the staircase. She ran down the stairs silently, not even a creak sounding in the echoing area. In a quick minute she was already out on the grounds, striding past the two guards at the gates surrounding the Hokage temple. She smiled sweetly at them, and they took an automatic step back—they still remembered her. Awww.

It wasn't long before she reached the popular bar, and found Hatake and Genma waiting outside for her. She lifted her hand in a nonchalant wave, and heard Genma's catcall whistle. A smirk playing its way onto her features, she walked up to the two Jounin and stopped in front of them. "Hey, boys."

Genma looked her up and down for a quick moment and nodded his approval. "You got older since the last time I saw you."

She laughed haughtily. "Of course I did, Genma. What was it, six years? That's why you have a birthday every year."

Rolling his one eye, Hatake shoved his hands into the pockets of his loose fitting jeans and leaned back against the outside of the building. She saw he was wearing one of those muscle shirts guys loved to walk around in, and that it looked pretty damn good on him. She could make out his six-pack and the muscles in his shoulders. She didn't see that stupid book anywhere in sight, though, and was relieved. He'd be able to concentrate on the conversation for once and not those nasty, vulgar pages.

"Is anyone else here?" Raiden asked, flipping her hair casually back out of her face. Genma watched her every move almost hungrily.

"Nope, just us three," he answered, and she noticed that he looked good, too, in his blue muscle shirt (Hatake's was black) and jeans. She wondered if he and Hatake had called to coordinate outfits, and laughed inwardly at the idea. Hey, it was possible.

"The others will be here soon," Hatake mentioned, and Raiden turned her gaze to look coldly at him. He returned it with a calm, collected look of his own, and she shifted so that her back was facing him.

Genma was still looking at her, and she smiled prettily. He smiled back. "We're glad you came back, Raiden," he said. "But our wallets aren't. Hell, the only one who didn't go bankrupt cause of you was Ka—" He was cut off with a blow to the ribs by Hatake, who had moved so quietly Raiden hadn't heard him. She glanced at Genma to make sure he was recovering alright, and then glared back towards Hatake.

"What's your problem? What did he do to you?" she asked angrily, and Hatake responded by jerking his thumb towards the right side of the street. She looked, still fuming slightly, to see Kurenai and Iruka walking to them, with Gai and Asuma close behind. Raiden smiled at the sight of them, forgetting her irritation with Hatake, and stepped forward as they reached the bar.

"Raiden!" Kurenai greeted, and the two girls hugged. They'd been good friends before Raiden's sudden departure, teammates on a few missions and shopping and sparring partners.

"How've you been, Kurenai?" Raiden asked once they'd pulled apart. She looked pointedly towards Asuma, and Kurenai blushed a little.

"Pretty good, and yourself?"  
"Just peachy." They made their way into the bar ahead of the men, who were slower to react to the two friends' reunion and entrance into the bar. In a moment, all seven of them were sitting at a large table, bottles of sake in front of each person. Gai had already taken a hearty swig of his and was swaying lightly in his seat—he seemed to be affected nearly as badly as Rock Lee was by sake.

Asuma stretched and leaned back in his chair, a cigarette in his hand. "So how have you been these past six years, Raiden?"

Raiden shrugged. "Alright, I guess. Didn't have much to do other than train and see the world." She made the words sound casual, but on the inside, her stomach twisted at the thought of what she called "training." It had been a painful, heart wrenching, violent excuse for training. She mentally shook her head, getting rid of the memories. She was going to have fun tonight, no matter what.

"We missed you when you were gone," Kurenai offered, tapping her fingers lightly on her bottle. Raiden smiled slightly, sipping on her sake.

"Thank you," she said, setting her drink down. "I thought of you all from time to time, too."

Iruka chuckled. "That's nice, Raiden. We love you too."

Raiden raised an eyebrow and studied him. "Did you become a Jounin, Iruka? I thought you were a Chunin. At least, you were when I left."

"Yeah, I still am," Iruka answered, shrugging his shoulder. "Still at the academy, with all the kids. At least there haven't been any more Naruto's." He shuddered, and Raiden laughed.

"I can understand that." When the others looked at her funnily, she pretended not to feel the guilt in her chest by swallowing a mouthful of sake, her head spinning. She knew what they were thinking.

"Yes, she's already gotten a taste of what Naruto is capable of," Hatake interrupted, and Raiden felt relieved at his quick save. She owed him for that. "He tried to attack her this morning when she called him and his team weak. She threw him in the river, too, which probably didn't help her case."

Asuma snorted and took a drag from his cigarette. "Yeah, that little kid's a handful. I don't know where he gets it."

_I do, _Raiden thought solemnly, but didn't say anything and just smiled like everyone else. "He has a strange way of fighting. I've never seen anyone with such a straightforward approach to a battle." _Yes, I have, I have seen someone fight like him. She was amazing, too, a great fighter, and so beautiful. _

"He's always been that way," Hatake said, his one gray eye lazily surveying Raiden over her bottle of sake. "That's just Naruto for you. But he never gives up, I'll give him that."

Raiden's heart gave a lurch at Hatake's comment. He never gives up. _Neither did he, _she thought, an image of the tall, strong man coming to mind. Naruto may not resemble him in fighting style, but he was determined like him.

"So," Genma said, leaning forward. "Where did you go on your little journey, Raiden? China?" Those at the table chuckled and sat up straighter, as if they, too, were eager to hear the story of the six years she'd been gone. Raiden looked at their faces with their carefully casual expressions and shook her head.

"As if," she muttered, taking a rather large swig of her sake. "Give me one good reason why I should tell you where I went."

"Because we want to know," Genma claimed, and Asuma and Gai murmured their agreement. "And because you can't keep something like that secret forever."

"Like hell I can't," she snapped, and stood up, her mind careening in twenty different directions. She was getting a bad headache, and Genma's question hadn't helped it any. She tripped over the leg of a chair in her haste to get away from the table and had to grab onto some guy's shoulder to keep from falling. He gave her a strange, drunken look that was apparently supposed to be seductive and she recoiled, heading for the door. But she misjudged the distance between the table and the door, and didn't notice the little greeting mat about of foot inside the doorway. Her toe caught on the edge of it and she fell towards the door.

Thinking that she shouldn't have had a bottle of sake, consider she hadn't had any for the past six years, she flew headlong at the door. She thought she was supposed to hit it, and it took a moment for her to realize she had stopped tumbling. It took another moment for her to notice the warm hands holding her around the waist, and to hear the snickers going around the room. Those hands lifted her to her feet and steered her out the door into the fresh air.

She stumbled outside, and if it weren't for the strong arms supporting her, she would've collapsed onto the dirt. She moaned and placed a hand on her head, never having felt so terrible in her life. Weren't you supposed to be happy and giddy when you got drunk? Another moan escaped her lips and she leaned completely against the person behind her, not caring who it was.

That person pulled her blonde hair out of her face and behind her shoulders, holding her up with one arm. The arms were sort of familiar to her, like she'd been there before, and more than once. They were arm and welcoming, and comforting. She felt herself relax and the spinning in her head slowed down a bit, but not enough to stop her from feeling her stomach twist agonizingly.

"Oh, Kami," she muttered, and the person behind her held her hair back and supported her as she heaved, keeping his or her feet carefully out of the way. The burning sensation left behind from the vomit made her extremely thirsty, and wanting water. The person behind her carefully swung her up into their arms, and, leaning on their chest, she realized it was a man. Oh, great. She was being taken away by a man that she couldn't even recognize in her drunken stupor. Hell, who cared? All she wanted was to get home and get into bed, her own bed, mind you, and sleep.

"Home," she whispered, her eyes feeling droopy and her head feeling groggy. The man held her tighter to his chest, and she felt them speed up. Whoever he was, he was fast.

"We're going, don't worry," the man said softly, and, had she not been half asleep, she would have been startled, insulted, and irritated by his voice, because she would have recognized it immediately.

vvv

Raiden woke up the next morning, or afternoon, or whatever it was, with a wretched headache and a pounding in her ears. She sat up, blinking blearily at the dimly lit room, and took a deep breath to try and calm her careening mind. She didn't remember much from last night, only getting mad, getting sick, and feeling someone place her in a soft, warm, comfortable bed she recognized only too well.

The room came into focus, and she saw that she was in her bedroom, in her bed, and that it was twelve in the afternoon. With a jolt, she realized she was late for training with Hatake's team, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She saw that this was a mistake, however, when, as she stood, the red and white colors swam together and her stomach wrenched with nausea. She dashed stupidly for the bathroom, weaving back and forth, stumbling over her own feet. Once the cool tile hit her feet, she fell to her knees in front of the toilet and threw up.

Her mouth burned and tasted like old sake. With a groan, more of last night began to come to mind, and she recalled getting upset because of a question Genma had asked her, having drank to much already, and trying to get outside. Someone had helped her and stopped her from clunking into the door, though she couldn't remember who. She remembered the feel of strong arms holding her against a muscled chest, and how they'd sped up when she mumbled incoherently, and that the man had said something…what had he said?

She hoisted herself off the bathroom floor and turned the shower on as cold as it could get; she needed an icy shower to wake her up. She stepped into the shower, not even wondering why she'd still been dressed in her shorts and top, and yelped at the literal icicles that drummed into her skin. It was freezing! Gritting her teeth together, she sucked it up and lathered herself with soap.

In a few minutes, she was out of the shower and pulling on her black ninja pants and shirt, not even thinking about the clothes she'd chosen. She tugged her green vest over her shoulders, and, leaving it open, snatched her headband from her bedside table and dragged herself out the door.

She didn't know how she got outside, when she got outside, or how her feet had known where to go, but she quickly found herself almost to the training fields. All of her senses were dulled to almost nothing, her shoulder slumped and her head still pounding insistently. There was a fuzzy haze that seemed to coat her eyes, and she found it hard to make out the shapes in front of her. Her mouth was opened for she hadn't the energy to hold it closed anymore, and her breathing came in long, ragged gasps. Hangovers hadn't been so bad before…why was it completely and utterly horrific now?!

Maybe it was because she hadn't had sake for six years and last night she'd over done it. Yeah, that sounded good. That would be her excuse when she saw the other Jounin—and one Chunin—later on. It definitely wouldn't be tonight. She was going to need a good nights rest.

She didn't even hear the grunts and complaints of Hatake's team until they came into view. She saw that Hatake had them practicing their weaponry skills, and their aim. Slowly creeping into the field, she stopped next to Hatake, who looked her up and down before turning his attention back to his students.

"Alright, Naruto, a little more lift to the wrist, there you go, you got it," he was saying, and Raiden looked at Naruto to see what Hatake was correcting.

For some reason, the blonde boy was unable to hit the target on the bulls-eye, and her practiced, although hazy, eye could tell that it was because of his wrist position. Instead of giving his wrist a flick from the side, he was doing this weird underhand thing that sent the shuriken whipping to the right and not straight.

"He doesn't need a 'little more lift' Hatake. He needs to change his tactic completely," Raiden said, and, feeling slightly better with something to do—and after correcting Hatake, of course—she walked over to Naruto and grabbed his wrist. His blue eyes looked up, startled, questioning.

"What?" he asked, and she nodded down at his hand.

"You need to hold your wrist like this," she tilted his wrist to the side, "and give it just a short little flick." Still holding his arm, she helped him the first time, and smiled when it hit the bulls-eye. "See?"

"Wow, thanks," Naruto said, looking up at her with wide eyes. "Kakashi-sensei never showed me how to do that."  
"That's because he prefers if his students learn on their own and from each other," Raiden explained, taking another shuriken from the kid. Even in her hung over state, she could easily throw a shuriken. Hell, she could do it in her sleep! With a sharp but quick flick of her wrist, the shuriken joined the first on the bulls-eye. "I used to have problems with this, too, when I was a kid. Of course, I was much younger than you, and I was already a Chunin, but still, that was a hard thing for me to learn."

"Who taught you?" Naruto asked, interested despite his irritation at her comment. "Was it your sensei?"  
Raiden chuckled and shook her head. "No, it was someone very close to me, but much older. Trust me," she added with a small, sad smile, "you don't know them."

Although she could tell Naruto was just itching to know, he nodded and continued working on his shuriken practice. Satisfied, Raiden swept her suddenly weary gaze over the other two students. Sasuke had advanced to four targets at the same time, and Sakura was practicing with two. Naruto was the only one left with the basics.

She recognized a fire in him that she had known before, and she knew that he wanted to be great. And he had spunk, she would give him that. But he was behind in his work, and he needed extra practice. Maybe, if she helped him, it would make up for what she'd refused to do, for her broken promise. She liked the idea.

"Hey, Naruto," she called, and the kid turned from his practice to look at her. He looked so innocent, she couldn't help but grin.

"Yeah, Namikaze-sensei?"

"Meet me at the bridge tomorrow at one o'clock, got it?" she demanded, and Naruto nodded slowly.

"Sure, sensei, for an extra practice with Sasuke and Sakura?" he queried, earning a firm shake of her head.

"Nope." Raiden flashed him another grin and allowed one wink. He looked positively startled. "Just you and me, extra training." With that, she turned her back to the Genin and moved to stand next to Hatake, who was peering curiously at her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," Hatake said in that smooth, carefree voice of his. "Just wondering why you would offer to give Naruto a few lessons by himself, is all."

_Oh, you know exactly why, you jerk. _She aimed a kick at him, but missed in her still woozy state and fell flat on her back. The breath was knocked out of her and she lay there, staring up at the cloudy sky. "Ugh."

"Need a hand?"

Glaring, she started to try to get up by herself, failed miserably, and held her hand out for Hatake to help her up. He hoisted her to her feet and she brushed herself off, the gears in her mind cranking slowly. When his hand had touched hers, she'd thought of something, but couldn't quite make out what it was. It was a little fuzzy.

"Alright, that's enough!" Hatake announced to his pupils. "We're going!"

Oh. My. Goodness.

This time, Raiden didn't miss when she kicked Hatake in the shin. Hard. He stumbled forward a step and looked back at her, his gray eye asking her why the hell she'd kicked him so hard. He leaned down and rubbed his shin absently.

"You jackass!" she shrieked, and kicked him again. He danced away this time, but her toe still brushed his leg. He had been the one who'd taken her home last night! She would have rather had that creepy drunk guy she'd bumped into take her home than Hatake! With an angry little mew, she turned on her heel, arms crossed, and started to walk way ahead of the Genin now gathering around their sensei, questions on their faces.

Hatake had stopped her falling, helped her outside, and held her hair back as she'd vomited all over the place. He'd taken her back to the temple, placed her in bed, and covered her up. And there was no telling how long he'd stayed, watching her like…she couldn't even think about it! A bad taste rose up in her mouth and she spat, recollections of other nights very much like last night coming to the front of her mind. She didn't want to remember any of that, it was so long ago, it didn't matter anymore! But how could he? He knew how she felt about him, especially after what he did twelve years ago!

She made her way into the little shop she'd gone into all the time with her brother and flung herself down just inside the curtained doorway. Knees hugged to her chest, she buried her face into her arms and fought back the tears. Why did she have to be so weak, so vulnerable? Hadn't she gotten over this already, how many years had it been? She'd left to get stronger, to deal with these emotions and get rid of them. She'd put herself through hell, utter torture to lose all of the pain that plagued her. It should have worked, it had worked! So why was she becoming the weak, emotional haphazard that she'd been before she'd left?

The man who ran the store, Hitsomo, had seen her like this before, and knew what she needed. He walked into the back of the shop for a few moments, and came back out with a mug of hot tea, sweetened with a bunch of sugar, just like she liked it. She looked up as he came towards her, a kind smile on his old face, and held out the mug. Sniffling and still struggling with the waterworks, she took it with a tiny "thank you" and sipped at it. Her headache had increased its pounding tenfold, and the sweet tea was welcome. It warmed her tight chest and helped the threatening tears disappear.

"Thanks," she said again, and Hitsomo smiled.

"Anytime, Miss Namikaze, anytime." He went behind the counter and she saw him bend over, digging around on one of the shelves. In a moment he resurfaced, holding a rectangular, velvet case. He strode over to her, his eyes crinkled in his kind smile, and he kneeled next to her. "Here you go, Miss Namikaze. Made this especially for you."

She slowly reached out a hand and took the box. "Thank you, Hitsomo, but you didn't have to make me anything."

"Oh, I believe I did," the man challenged gently, and pointed to the calendar on the wall. "Today is your birthday, if I remember correctly." He chuckled at her abashed expression. "I think I can assume you forgot, eh?"  
She nodded and looked down at the case, wondering how she'd forgotten her own birthday. Maybe because she hadn't celebrated it in any way, shape, or form for the past twelve years. Carefully, she opened the small velvet case that looked like it would hold some sort of jewelry and pulled the tissue paper off of the contents inside. She gave a little gasp and her hand flew to her mouth.

It was a fan, one on the smaller side, which was decorated beautifully with red vines and leaves on a white background. Intertwined with the petals and long, stretching stems and vines were the words that she hadn't dared to think in so long: _May the Lord watch between me and you while the two of us are one from another. _

Feeling the tears she'd just fought back spring to her eyes again, she got to her feet and threw her arms around Hitsomo, sobbing into his shoulder, still holding the fan. "Oh, thank you! Thank you, it's beautiful!" she managed to get out in between sobs. Hitsomo hugged her back, tears welling up in his own clouded eyes. Raiden had never received a gift that had meant so much to her, not even from her own brother. Hitsomo must have seen her admiring the other red and white fan two days ago, and decided to make her one of her own, a special one that only she would ever have. It was beautiful, and she knew she would never let go of it.

After a moment, she pulled away from Hitsomo, thanked him ten times over for the tea and the present, and left, carefully placing the fan back in its case and holding it close to her chest. The realization that it was her twenty-sixth birthday and the gift from Hitsomo had distracted her from her hangover, and she no longer noticed the headache drilling her nerves, or her irritation at Hatake. She could only focus on the kindness of the old man and thoughts of the fan.

She made it back to the temple in record time, and, as usual, headed straight up to her bedroom. She flipped the lights on, threw back the curtains, and flopped back on her bed, feeling happier than she had in years. If Hitsomo hadn't reminded her, she would never have figured out that it was her birthday, and his gift had only made it that much better. All those haunting, sobering thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind, and for the moment, all she could think of were the happier times she'd spent, when she'd actually wanted to celebrate her birthday.

Images of birthday cakes, piles of presents, and the happy smile of the person she cared for the most flashed across her mind's eye. Her heart swelled and warmed as she remembered eagerly opening gifts, paper flying in every direction, sticking a ribbon on top of his head as she thanked him for her present.

She sighed, content and happy, and touched the necklace on her chest. She felt the smooth, zigzag edge of the inside of the pendant, and the smooth circular edge on the outside. She remembered the day she'd given the other half to him, and his promise to keep it with him forever. Forever had gotten closer, too close, as they years had worn on, and came too quickly for Raiden's liking. But she still had her happy memories.

A knock on her door caught her attention, and she iced over her face, not wanting anyone else to know her happiness, much less share it. She slipped off the bed and walked to the door, wondering who could be visiting her. With a creak the door opened to her tug on the doorknob, and there stood Hatake, his hands behind his back, obviously holding something there. Grimacing visibly, Raiden raised her eyebrow and gave him a look that warned him to hurry up and get on with it. She should've figured—he never forgot anything.

"Uh, happy birthday?" he said, taking from behind his back a bouquet of red roses and a little brown teddy bear. At the sheepish look on his face, Raiden felt the laugh creeping up her throat, but she fought it back and took the two gifts with a smile.

"Thank you, Hatake," she said, genuinely meaning it. By far this had to be the best present he'd really given her. Hell, compared to the last gift she'd gotten, it was practically a diamond ring!

"You're welcome," he said, and it took her a moment to realize that he was not wearing his mask. She looked at him curiously, trying to figure out why he hadn't worn the cloth over his face like he usually did—hadn't he refused to take his mask off ever since she'd left? Or at least, that's what she'd thought.

"So…" She looked hesitantly towards him over the sweet-smelling roses and soft brown bear. He shifted a little nervously, and she took the moment to judge how much he'd changed behind his mask.

His red Sharingan eye stood out from his pale face, his headband upright like it should be. His nose was shaped perfectly as always, not a blemish was seen on his cheeks, and his mouth was in a tight, nervous line. His cheekbones were high set, but not too protruding, and the lines of his jawbone elegantly sculpted to fit the rest of his face. Raiden had not forgotten how handsome he was, but she was still startled by the sight of his absolutely gorgeous face.

"I had thought it would be nice to take you out to dinner tonight for your birthday but…maybe I shouldn't," Hatake said, and turned to leave. Raiden couldn't think of anything to say as she watched him walked back down the hallway.

"Thanks for the flowers," she decided on, but she said it so quietly she was unsure whether he had heard her or not.

* * *

**OKay, there you have it. The third chapter in my third story, haha, funny. Anyway, thank you for the reviews, adn I know there are others out there who read it but aren't reviewing, and I'd REALLY love to hear your opinion on my story. So please review. Please please please!**

**Thanks! LUv ya!**

**Nicola**


	4. Training

**This chapter is slightly more focused on the relationship between Raiden and Naruto, with a little bit more of conflict with her and Kakashi. I can't wait until the next chapter, when I reveal the reason for Raiden's calling Kakashi by his surname, why he lost her respect.**

**Nicola**

* * *

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Raiden waited on the bridge, leaning against the thin railing and watching the water flow underneath. She was waiting for Naruto to get here, but she was early, and wasn't expecting him for another fifteen minutes. Knowing him, his sensei's bad habits had probably begun to rub off.

She really wasn't concentrating on Naruto at the moment, though. She was replaying what had happened between her and Hatake last night over and over in her head. The roses he'd given her were sitting on a vase on her dresser and the teddy bear in the middle of her bed. The bow around the bear's neck was red, so it matched. Of course, Hatake would have known to buy a bear that had something red or white on it, since he knew what her room looked like by heart. He'd spent many hours in there when they were younger, after all.

It still wasn't clear to her why Hatake had come to her room bearing gifts of a quality she wasn't used to receiving from him. Normally he would bring her something out of a twenty-five cent machine or something he won at a carnival. Never roses and a bear, a present he would've had to buy. And he had come without his mask, another maneuver she couldn't decipher. There had to be some reason behind his weird behavior, but whatever. She'd deal with it later; she could see Naruto coming towards her.

The kid waved, and she lifted her chin in greeting. He jogged the last few feet to the bridge and came to a halt in front of Raiden, an eager look on his young face. Raiden surveyed him with her hard eyes and looked him up and down, frowning.

"Lose the orange jacket," she told him.

Expression stunned, Naruto touched the fabric of his beloved orange jacket. "But, Namikaze-sensei…"

"You heard me," Raiden snapped, and reluctantly Naruto took his jacket off, leaving him in his gray shirt and his bright orange pants. She winced, but didn't tell him to lose the pants, too. She was not aiming to see him in his boxer shorts. Once he'd draped the jacket over the railing, she pointed to the water. "See the water?"  
Naruto nodded. "Yeah, it's always been there." He said it like he was talking to a naïve child, and Raiden scowled.

"Not always." She gestured toward the river again. "I want you to dive into the river." She held her hand up to stop the outburst she knew was coming. "I've hidden three kunai knives on the bottom, and you have to retrieve them. This is only the warm up, if you think this is bad."

With a sigh, Naruto moved to take off his gray shirt, but Raiden grabbed hold of his wrists and shook her head. "No, you're going in with your clothes on."

Naruto grimaced and, after shooting Raiden a nasty look, he jumped feet first into the water. Almost immediately she hollered for him to come back up. He pulled himself onto the bridge again, dripping wet, his blonde hair plastered against his forehead.

"Okay, first," she began, walking closer to him. "You'd better tie your headband to your arm. If you're going to swim and search for things, you can't take the chance of having it slip over your eyes and blind you." Naruto untied his headband obediently, but unsurely, and retied it on his upper arm. "Second, you never jump feet first into any body of water. Always headfirst, with your arms pointed." She demonstrated, and Naruto copied her. "Good. Now dive in this time."

As she watched Naruto dive correctly into the water and disappear under the surface, she thought of her first time trying to swim. She'd been gently corrected by her older brother, and he had gotten in and swam with her. She knew that Naruto would probably have wanted a kind reprimand, but that wasn't the kind of person she'd trained herself to become. She didn't do nice, or kind, at least, not anymore.

For a moment, there was no sign of Naruto being in the water at all. She felt a quick flash of fear, but forced it back down just as quickly. She'd give him about thirty more seconds before jumping in after him. Ticking the seconds off in her head, she began to shrug off her Jounin vest when a blonde head bobbled to the surface, a triumphant grin stretched across it. She relaxed, shoved her hands into her pockets, and looked expectantly at the kid.

"Well?"

He held up his fist—with three kunai in it. She wanted to praise him, she really did, but she couldn't bring herself to do it and instead said, "You did okay. But next time," she snapped her fingers, and one of the kunai turned to dust, "recognize a replacement jutsu when you see one."

Naruto's face fell, and he was about to dive back underwater to retrieve the actual third kunai when Raiden motioned him forward. He swam to the shore, clambered onto the grass, and sat there, staring at the water. Raiden could see the frustration building up in him for making such a stupid mistake and strode casually off the bridge to stand sit on his left side. She stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned back on her hands, watched the water ripple back and forth against the shore.

The kid was still brooding, his whole demeanor miserable, even in the way he held himself with his knees against his chest and his shoulders slumped. If Raiden had looked in the mirror the previous morning, she would've seen the exact same thing, except for one difference—Naruto was upset because he had failed. She'd been miserable because of her hangover.

She took the few minutes he was silent to study him, really study him. His blonde hair stuck to his forehead and the back of his neck, but she knew it normally stood up on end, spiky and unruly. His eyes were downcast, and the iciest, most expressive shade of blue. He was not good at hiding his emotions, she knew, but he would get there, she would make sure of it. The three whiskers on each side of his face acted like a brand, the mark of the demon that distinguished him from all other kids his age, and not in a good way. Anyone who looked at him could tell he was the boy with the nine-tailed fox spirit trapped inside of him.

His mouth was tight and drawn; sagging at the corners in a sure sign he was disappointed in himself. She knew how hard it must be to be the average one on a team made up of the last remaining Uchiha loyal to Konoha and a brain like Sakura. Sure, Sakura wasn't much of a fighter, but she was the thinker of the team and was like the glue that held them all together. After one day with them, Raiden had been able to tell that their little group was made up of a love triangle that went astray.

Naruto was in love with Sakura, Sakura liked Sasuke, and Sasuke thought they were both annoying. Okay, so it was more of a two-sided triangle with one piece forcibly separating itself from the others, but still, it was like a mini-soap opera going on.

Raiden took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to think of what to say to the obviously upset kid. There wasn't much she figured she could say to cheer him up; it was just Naruto's way of dealing with things. She was a little disappointed herself, too, because she'd watched him grow up into a strong six-year-old kid who'd dealt with more hell than anyone, and had seen the way he fought back at every insult made to him. He had stayed up in his room, belting his feet to the mattress to keep them down while he did sit ups, heading out to the training fields at the academy to work on his aim and strength, practicing his chakra control by holding a leaf to his forehead. So why was he moping now?

"Naruto," Raided said sharply, and Naruto snapped to attention, looking at her with said blue eyes. "Quit moping. That's not the kind of kid you are." Her expression became fierce, she could feel it. "You are going to get up and we are going to train, do you get it? I don't care how much Hatake worked you three this morning, today is one-on-one training, me and you. So quit laying around feeling sorry for yourself and let's get to work." She finished on a lower, but still just as urgent note, and stood up.

It didn't take long for Naruto to take her words into consideration and he, too, was on his feet. He was literally bouncing on the balls of his feet in his eagerness to get going, and Raiden shook her head. He was a moody little sucker, wasn't he?

"What're we going to do now, Namikaze-sensei?" he asked, his eyes bright with excitement. "Run up trees, walk on water, what?!"

Smiling, Raiden said, "We're going to go for a nice, long run."

Obviously disappointed, Naruto exclaimed, "What?! A run?! That's not training! That's something bushy brow and his sensei would do!"

Having to rack her brains for who bushy brow was, Raiden reminded Naruto, "And look where all that got him. He's the best taijustu specialist at the Chunin level, and even though he's injured, he's still trying. And Gai might me strange, but he's skilled, too. So a jog it is."

Raiden started running, with Naruto dashing after her. She didn't realize she was going too fast for him, but that wasn't her fault. He hadn't realized what her definition of "jogging" was.

vvv

"What's the matter, can't keep up?"

Raiden laughed tauntingly as she ran several yards ahead of a tiring Naruto. They were on their third lap of Konoha, and though she wasn't winded at all, the kid was dripping sweat and panting for breath. But their run wasn't over yet, and she had no intentions of stopping until four laps were over.

She heard Naruto's gasping breaths but didn't slow her pace a bit. This was part of their training—he would have to learn to go faster and keep up, or else he'd lag behind like this every single day, something that his rather large ego wouldn't take nicely. And since she had no idea if he could activate his demon chakra yet or not, she wasn't counting on him using that to boost his endurance and speed.

"Wait…up!" Naruto yelled in between pants, and Raiden only glanced over her shoulder.

"Why? Just because you can't keep up doesn't mean I have to slow down!" She could feel the frustration vibrating from the determined Genin, and smirked. He'd get there eventually, oh yes.

They passed the bride again—they were on their fourth lap. She didn't hear him cry out in relief that they were almost done, though, like she'd expected, and had to look back to see what was going on. What she saw made her nod her head in approval.

Instead of lagging behind even more, Naruto was, slowly but surely, beginning to close the distance between them. His skinny legs were hitting the ground harder, his strides lengthening, and his arms pumping faster. He'd finally gotten the idea in his head that he was not going to quit now, and that he was going to do this, even if it killed him.

"Alright, Naruto, you're getting there!" Raiden called encouragingly to him, but kept her tone slightly aloof. "Just go faster!"

And he did. They were halfway through their last lap, and Naruto was only a few feet behind her. As they closed in on the bridge again, Raiden caught sight of something bright yellow bobbing along beside her, and she grinned. Naruto finished the fourth lap running right next to his Namikaze-sensei, fighting all the way to edge in front. Raiden wouldn't let him, though, always keeping half a stride between them.

At the bridge, Naruto seemed to want to collapse from exhaustion, but Raiden stood firm, without a drop of sweat on her forehead. The kid had sweat literally pouring off of him, but he was up, and he'd done it.

"Go jump in the river," she demanded of him, and he looked incredulous but dove in anyway without a moments hesitation. He resurfaced in two seconds, looking a little more refreshed than he had on land. Raiden took off her vest and long-sleeve shirt and dove in next to him, wearing only the tank top she always had under her ninja clothes. She came up after smoothing her hair back in the water, and took off her headband, tying it securely around her arm.

"Why're we in the river?" Naruto gasped, still winded from the run.

"Because we are going swimming," Raiden replied and laughed when he stared at her as if she were insane, which she probably was.

"Are you kidding me?! We just got done running around Konoha four times! I'm not going to swim!"

Raiden gave him a warning look, and he shut his mouth. "Quit whining, you baby, and start swimming." She set off swimming against the current, not caring when Naruto started complaining about that, too. It was growing into the evening, and the current was picking up with the winds. She had no trouble fighting against it, but Naruto did, and he struggled as she swam up ahead.

"Don't leave me here! I can't swim against the current! You're crazy if you think I'm doing that!"

"Then you'll never be Hokage!" Raiden shouted back over her shoulder, and all was silent for a moment. Then she heard the sounds of a person grunting and gasping as if they were trying extremely hard at something extremely difficult. She paused in her swimming to see what he was doing, and saw that he was battling the current with everything he had.

His legs kicked hard out behind him, and he pumped roughly with his arms. She felt a bit of sympathy for the kid, and swam towards him, reaching him and treading water beside him. He was completely focused on the task of swimming against the current, she noticed, and smiled

"Don't kick so hard," she advised, placing a calming hand on Naruto's legs, "and try going under to swim. It makes it a little easier if you go under, come up, go under, and come up, etcetera."

She didn't know if Naruto heard her, so she started swimming away, and grinned when she heard him coming after her. Hatake was right: the kid was determined. And headstrong, too, but that could be fixed in time. She swam a little more slowly than normal so as to keep a better eye on her student; he was still struggling a little bit, but he was doing better, much better. Soon, she knew, he would be able to keep up with her usual pace.

The swam until they reached the mile marker—which Raiden had put up herself—and Raiden motioned for him to go ahead and get on dry land. She easily stood up on the water and walked onto the shore, but Naruto struggled to focus his chakra in his weary state. She sighed—maybe she should've told him that using his chakra to swim helped, too—and held her hand out.

Naruto looked at the outstretched limb in perplexity before grasping onto her wrist and hauling himself onto the ground. There he lay for a moment, breathing heavily and sprawled flat out on his back. Raiden stood next to him and waited for him to catch his bearings. She had the presence of mind not to push him right now, because he'd already been shoved to his limits. Well, maybe she would give him a little prod.

"Get up," she commanded, and when Naruto didn't immediately obey, she nudged him firmly with her toe. "I said get up."

With a grunt, Naruto struggled into a sitting position and stayed there, as if he couldn't get up onto his own two feet. Raiden sighed.

"Naruto, up on your feet. Now." He didn't move. "Naruto!" He turned his head to look at her, and she stopped her advance towards him. The look in his eyes made her heart skip a beat, and she saw that he was, really, truly trying with everything he had to stand up like she'd told him to. She could see him shaking all over as he gave it another go and collapsed onto his bottom again. The initiative she could see radiating off of him made her step backwards with her hand pressed to her mouth, her eyes wide.

Before the kid could see the expression on her face, though, she turned cool again and sat down on the ground, but not too close to him, for fear of another breakdown. She'd seen someone like this before, unable to stand up trying their damnest to. She remembered the feeling of shaking uncontrollably and the way her legs hadn't listened to anything she told them. She was putting this kid through the exact torture she forced herself to do these past six years. Oh, Kami, she was cruel.

But she wasn't going to back down, oh, hell no. If Naruto was going to catch up to his teammates, and surpass them, he was going to train and as hard as she had. There was no turning back now.

"Are you alright?" she asked him in a quiet, serene voice. He didn't answer, and she looked over to make sure hadn't had a heart attack or something. Naruto was looking straight at her, disbelief in his always emotional eyes.

"Are you crazy?" he said wearily, and offered her the smallest hint of a smile. "I've never been better."

vvv

"You know," Naruto said, his mouth full of ramen, "I've never seen a girl eat so much ramen in my life! And I thought I was bad!"

They were in the ramen shop, of course, for a late dinner, and Raiden had just finished off her fifth bowl. She was currently rubbing her stomach, wondering how many laps it would take for her to burn off the food, and watching Naruto stare at her in amazement.

"Hey, I never said I couldn't eat," she reminded him, and he chuckled. It had taken two hours itself for Naruto to get up enough energy to stand and creep slowly towards the ramen shop, his mind set on not having any help. But halfway there, he managed to collapse and Raiden had had no choice but to throw his arm around her waist and half-drag him to the village. She shook her head as she thought about his many weak protests and wondered how Hatake managed to put up with him. Hatake must have a lot more patience than she remembered, but he'd always been a resigned person. It shouldn't really surprise her that much.

Again her attention turned to the flowers and bear sitting in her room, and she sighed, still unable to figure out what had spurred the gifts. Maybe he was feeling bad that he'd upset her so much last night after taking her home drunk and putting her to bed. Or he could be trying to make up for all those birthday's he'd missed.

Really, she hadn't figured he would remember the date, but Hatake never did forget much. Which meant he wouldn't have forgotten why she'd left. She smirked, thinking of how he'd always been the only one to give her a birthday present even when she denied that it was her birthday, how he'd brought her whatever cheap gift he'd been able to scramble together at the last minute and handing it to her with an aloof demand she pay him back as soon as possible for the "expensive" item. That was just Hatake for you, and she'd never been able to fully understand him.

At that particular moment, when Naruto was downing the last of his fourth bowl, the curtain was pushed aside and Hatake walked in with Sasuke trailing behind him. The copy ninja took one look at Naruto's bruised, scratched, and still shaking figure, shook his head, and said, "Sasuke, take Naruto home. He's had enough ramen for tonight and I don't think he'll make it by himself."

The Uchiha boy sighed as if this task utterly bored him and took Naruto by the collar of his jacket, muttering, "Come on, dobe. Let's go."

Naruto flailed meekly and whimpered, "But I wasn't done yet! Hey! Sasuke, let go of me! Get off!"

Raiden could make out Naruto's complaints even as he was dragged down the street by his teammate. She shook her head and chuckled lightly, playing with her usual glass of water in front of her. Hatake took the seat next to her, but didn't order anything, and leaned his arms against the countertop. He didn't look at her, but she could tell he was slightly irritated just from the way he held himself. His shoulders were more rigid than normal, and he didn't automatically reach for the pocket in his vest that would've held his orange book.

She ignored his being there and downed the rest of her water, slapped some money on the counter, and stood up, ready to leave. As she pushed the curtain to the side, she felt someone's hand on her shoulder and stiffened. What did he want now?

Pretending that the hand wasn't there and that Hatake wasn't following her outside now, Raiden walked down the street as if everything was just peachy. But Hatake didn't go away, and she finally stopped to look at the gray-haired man walking next to her. He stopped, too, and shifted his stance so that he was tilted towards her, but not standing directly in front of her.

"What do you want?" she snipped, irritated and wanting to get home already. Her warm bed was waiting for her, and she knew she'd have to get up early tomorrow to be at the training field with Hatake and his team, and then for training with Naruto.

"Oh, I was wondering why you had Naruto working so hard today is all," Hatake said in one of his most casual voices. Raiden rolled her eyes.

"Look, I offered to give the kid extra practice, and when he trains with me, he's going to get worked hard. There's no other way he's going to advance his level," she explained, crossing her arms and staring coldly at her former friend. She hadn't considered him much more than an acquaintance for twelve years, and wasn't planning on changing that anytime soon. "Besides, weren't you just finishing up extra practice with your obviously favored student, Sasuke?"

Hatake shrugged. "Yes, but not for the same reasons you're training Naruto."

Raiden bristled and clenched her fists, fighting to keep her cool. "And what would those reasons be, Hatake? Enlighten me."

"Guilt," Hatake said simply, gesturing briefly towards the mountain with one hand while the other stayed in his pocket. She really had to fight to control the fury building up in her, fueled by the guilt Hatake claimed she was helping Naruto because of.

"And you only favor Sasuke because he's stronger than the rest, correct?" she retorted, and her old comrade chuckled lightly.

"Whatever you'd like to think. And it isn't a lie that Sasuke is very talented. Everyone knows it, whether or not you'll believe it."

As Hatake turned to walk away, Raiden grabbed onto his shoulder and spun him back around, her expression one of forced calm. "By the way, Hatake, those flowers you gave me last night? I don't like roses. I like petunias."

With that, she spun on her heel and strode up the street, her shoulders shaking from the anger slowly bubbling to the surface. If those words hadn't stung, she didn't know what would get to that dumb copy ninja. Actually, she did, but she wasn't going to sink so low as to mention his father or his old teammate, Obito. Hatake might fight nasty, but she didn't, and as long as he kept his toe off of that line, she wouldn't cross it either.

On her way back to the temple, and to her comforting room, she caught sight of the mountainside Hatake had gestured to. The four faces—with the fifth in progress—stared solemnly down on her, as if reprimanding her for all the sins she'd committed in the past twelve years. Ignoring her friends, refusing to attend the funeral of the Fourth, going back on her promise, leaving the village, returning with a bitter attitude that she was supposed to have lost. And those were only a few of them. Those didn't include her selfishness or her tendency to push people over the edge.

She sighed heavily, meeting the eyes of each of the Hokage's until she rested her gaze on the Fourth. His stone eyes glared at her, as if speaking to her personally. She could see the vibrant colors his eyes had possessed, and this dumb carving didn't do him justice. She bit down on her lip and shoved her hands into her pockets. Nothing would ever capture the spirit the Fourth had had. Nothing.

Turning from the mountainside, she tried to think of anything but the face of the Fourth. She could feel his empty eyes boring into her back as she walked away, and it sent chills crawling up her spine. He seemed to follow her everywhere, no matter how far she ran or how cleverly she hid—he was there, a shadow, a spirit, haunting her, reminding her of the promise she had miserably broken that had ended in the unnecessary pain of a child and begun because of bitter finger-pointing. She shuddered, and walked faster, trying to get away from the prying eyes. If she could only get into her room, hidden away from the haunts of her past decisions, she would be okay.

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**Okay, in the next chapter (as stated way way above), I'll tell you why Raiden calls Kakashi by his surname, Hatake, instead of his first name like everyone else. And yes, there'll be more obvious hints as to what her connection to the Fourth is. So please bear with me, because she has to admit and remember what happened and begin to deal with it before she can begin to realize what's going on between her and Kakashi again (yes, something happened when they were younger), so please tell me your thoughts and opinions, etc, in your reviews!**

**Thanks!**

**Luv ya**

**Nicola**


	5. Hidden Away

**This chapter was SOOO hard to write. I really wanted to cry, and put off going to see my horse for half and hour just to finish the memory lapse part. Please enjoy reading this as much as I loved writing it--it's fun to test how emotional I can make my words.**

**Disclaimer: Dont' own Naruto and company, all props go to Masashi Kishimoto (I THINK that's how you spell his name...)**

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Rain pounded relentlessly on the window, the wind howled as if in agony, and thunder cracked across the sky. With the storm raging outside, Raiden sat huddled up on her bed, back pressed against the headboard, knees curled to her chest. She hadn't ventured from this spot since noon, when she'd discovered being around Hatake and his team was entirely too difficult. Considering what day it was, and all.

It had been three months since her return to Konoha, her training sessions with Naruto were going exceptionally well—he was improving so quickly that she could barely recognize him—and most of the Jounin had forgotten her little episode at the bar. Only Hatake held on to the memory, every so slightly bringing it up when she started to get on her nerves, to which she retaliated with hinting comments about their past relations toward one another and why she still hated him for it.

She shivered as a flash of lighting lit up her otherwise blackened room, illuminating the dresser, bed, and the anguished expression on her face. The storm was not what frightened her, though—it was the irony on how such a vicious tempest could occur on what she noted as the anniversary of the worst day of her life. It had taken most of her reserve to keep herself in check and the memories of today thirteen years ago in the back of her mind all morning. And now, she couldn't hold the mental block on those thoughts any longer.

Tears sprang to the corners of her normally hard blue eyes, and the warm salt water slowly spilled over, each droplet leaving a moist trail down her cheek. She couldn't bring herself to lift her hand and brush them away.

As clearly as if it had just happened, memories of that fateful day thirteen years ago burst clearly into her mind. She remembered everything done, all the words said, the horror of realization as it all began to make sense to her…all as if it had happened just this morning…

_ "Please, Minato! You can't!" Raiden cried, placing herself between her brother and the door, feeling the waterworks coming already. "There's other ways!" He was insane, he wasn't about to do this, he wasn't even thinking it. He couldn't be. But all she received from her pleading gaze was a firm shake of his head. _

_ Minato took another step closer to the frantic teenager in front of him. She stood in place as if her feet were rooted there, and he sighed. "Don't do this, Raiden. You and I both know this is the only sure-proof way." A small smile tugged at his lips, and she gritted her teeth against the wait climbing up her throat. "Remember the oath I took." _

_ Raiden reluctantly nodded, but still she didn't move. He was crazy to even think about doing this. He couldn't possibly know what he was sacrificing, what he was doing to the village, to his people, to her. What he was doing to…to Kushina, and to her son, her newborn child. He knew that neither Kushina nor his younger sister had anyone but him to look up to, to trust, and if he did this, they would be alone, not even having each other. Not only that, but the village…and the boy. _

_ She felt Minato's hand on her shoulder and looked up into those icy blue eyes she knew so well. Where there normally would have been laughter was something between determination and pleading. He was asking her to let him do this, what they both understood was necessary, but she couldn't tell him she was okay with it, when she wasn't. _

_ Her own hand moved to touch his face, and she sighed and the warmth of his skin. It was so familiar, so soothing and reassuring. Minato knew what he was doing, that it was the right thing. But she was not as sure as he was. Her gaze rested on the headband on his forehead, emblazoned with the Konoha symbol. He wore it always so proudly, so loyal to his village. Risking everything for the lives of hundreds of others was the biggest price anyone could pay, and here he was, ready and willing to accept that fate. But she couldn't, not Minato, not her brother. _

_ She looked into his eyes again and felt a tear slide down her cheek. She took her hand from Minato's face and threw herself at him, sobbing into his shoulder. His arms wrapped around her, his hands gently rubbing her back as he whispered consolingly into her ear. "You won't be alone, you won't be without me. I'll still be here, just in spirit, always in your heart, with you." He pulled away for a moment and tugged his necklace from the inside of his shirt. The left half of the circle dangled off the silver chain; Raiden held out her half, and they pressed them together. _

_ The whole circle made the saying make sense, and Raiden forced herself to stop her weeping. Minato was right—the two of them would always be connected as long as they had their necklaces. But she was only fourteen…she couldn't lose the only family she had, not while she was so young, not while she needed him the most. _

_ Swallowing hard, Raiden stood on tiptoes and pressed her lips to her brother's cheek. When she pulled back, she saw a determined, fearless glint in his eyes. And then he touched her shoulder for one last time, brushed a strand of blonde hair out of her face. He walked past her without a single word, and she turned with him, still holding the charm in her palm, and watched him walk from the room, a hollow feeling in her heart as the bottom of his cloak disappeared from sight. _

_ In a moment she followed him outside, where the village was being attacked. She ran full pelt through the flying debris, her heart set on finding her brother. She weaved in and out of the panicking throngs of people as her eyes searched for Minato. She couldn't find him, and felt a rising fear in her chest. She didn't want him to do this, she wanted him here, with her, not out there, about to die for his village. No! _

_ Her breathing came in short gasps as she teetered on the edge of hyperventilating, trying to see through the dusty haze and around the people shoving and dashing past her. In her minds eye she repeatedly saw Minato disappearing out of the door, his cloak vanishing around the corner, and the way his eyes had gone hard and emotionless, as if he knew that if he allowed any feelings to show he wouldn't be able to do this. She bit back a cry as she caught sight of the hideous orange-red creature that was ravaging the village, and knew that somewhere near its feet her brother stood, trying to force it backwards, weakening it as much as he could. _

_ Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kakashi fighting his way towards her, his mask torn off his face, his hand outstretched as if to grab her and keep her away from Minato. She wouldn't let him catch her, she couldn't. She needed to get to her brother, to be with him when it happened. _

_ There had to be another way to get rid of the demon, any other way! Just as long as it didn't take her brother from her—she had no one else to turn to. Kushina would leave after he was…she couldn't even think it. She would be left by herself, not even her vibrant, red-headed sister-like friend to comfort her in her grief. No one would be there for her to cry on, to spill her pain to. She wouldn't know what to do without Minato—he was her everything, her lifeline, her best friend, her parent, her brother, her confidant, everything! And he was risking it all, all just for this stupid village!  
In that moment, she felt a vile hate for Konoha rise up in her chest, and she spat on the ground as she pounded down the street, spiting the village for making her brother do this. It wasn't his job to sacrifice everything just for the stupid Leaf village! He was supposed to be her brother, to be there for her, not leave her! _

_And then, she saw what she'd feared: Minato standing above a small bundle, the hideous creature looming above him, but it was slowly receding, its growls beginning to fade, as it disappeared into the blanketed bundle on the ground. Raiden tried to scream, to yell, to say anything, but she couldn't find her voice. She saw Minato sway where he stood, heard the distant cries of a frightened infant, and yet she could not move. Minato fell backwards, as if in slow motion, and Raiden reached out in desperation; maybe she could catch him before he fell, and if she caught him, maybe it wouldn't be true, and he'd wake up laughing teasingly like he used to when he tricked her. He hit with the quietest of thuds, almost silent but to Raiden's ears, his necklace sparkling in the too-bright sunlight. _

_Raiden heard herself screaming out for him, demanding he get up even though she knew he couldn't, nor ever would again. She started to run for him, stumbling blindly as she tried to reach him. She felt a pair of hands grab her arm, but she yanked away; she had to get to him, she just had to, to hold him and make sure he was okay. More restraining hands pulled uselessly at her arms, legs, shirt, but she kept running. _

_She fell to her knees beside him, brushing a bit of dirt off of his cheek with her fingers, smoothing his hair out of his face. Hot tears poured down her cheeks, dripping off her chin to land on Minato's still chest, her own chest stinging with an almost crippling pain. She wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, closed his eyelids over his glassy blue eyes. She couldn't bear to look at them—they'd once sparkled like a million diamonds under midday sunlight, and now stared pale and blank into nothingness. _

_A familiar hand rested on her shoulder, and she shrugged it off. But an arm clasped around her chest, restraining her arms to her sides. Softly a voice whispered soothingly to her, "Let the others take care of it, come on now…" _

_ But she wasn't interested in letting anyone else "take care of it." It was Minato, her brother, the only family she had left. It was her job, her right to take care of him! And yet the arms and voice wouldn't go away. _

_ "Dammit!" she screamed, thrashing and resisting, her breaths coming out in sobs. "Let me go, dammit! I can't leave him! I can't leave him! Kakashi! LET ME GO!!!" Her voice and weeping echoed through the streets where the panicking people had stopped to watch her breakdown. _

_ "MINATO!!!!!" _

Raiden's shoulders shook from her sobs, her breaths quick and heaving. The memories hurt so much, it was so painful, as if a thousand pounds of agony were pressing down on her chest. She wanted to forget, to get away from the pain, but could not let him go. He was still a part of her, always would be. And yet she had not done what he'd asked her to the day before he'd died. She'd failed him.

If only she'd been able to stop him, hold him back until they found some other way to kill the Kyuubi, then he'd be alive today, still reining as the Fourth, her brother, Naruto's father. Damn it all to hell! She'd always known her brother would have done anything for this wretched village, and he had given the ultimate sacrifice: his own life. And he'd left everything behind, condemned his son to a lifetime of shunning and taunting.

No, she corrected herself as she drew the covers over her shaking form and lay down against the pillows. That had been all her.

The day before he had died, he had made her swear if anything happened to him and Kushina that she, his only sister, younger by fifteen years, would take care of the child, raise him as the nephew he was, care for his every need, teach him who his parents were and why he had the demon in him, and that he was a hero, not a monster as everyone proclaimed him to be. Minato had asked her to let everyone know his son was a hero, to let them know the demon in him was a gift, not a curse, not something that would make him into the hideous fox that had destroyed the village.

But she hadn't.

She had refused to take the child after Kushina left for her home land, and watched as her brother's son had been carted off to the orphanage. Bitterly observed from the sidelines as the child grew up under the disapproving eyes of the village she hated. Seen the pain Naruto had been put through, and laughed at it, despising the child because he had taken her brother's life, instead of loving him like she should have. And there was no making up for that. For six years she'd stayed in the shadows and sardonically taken joy in the torture everyone else put him through. Though she had not taunted him like the others, she hadn't stopped it. Refusing to put an end to the shunning she'd been just as bad as the rest of them, and she'd wallowed in the hollow victory of putting Naruto through the hell she was going through.

And then the day came when she finally broke down, unable to take any more of the pain and suffering Konoha brought. At age twenty, she'd handed in her headband and Jounin vest to the Third Hokage, and left, despite Sarutobi's pleas that she stay. She'd ignored him, walked out of that familiar and hated office, and departed from the village Hidden in the Leaves. Konohagakure was marked as a figment of a past she never wanted to go back to, and she refused to say goodbye to anyone, not even Hatake Kakashi, whom she'd lost all respect for after he'd taken her away from Minato's body.

She gasped as the pain in her chest surged into a crippling agony as it had when she'd seen her brother's body lying on the ground beneath her, having watched him fall, the soft thud echoing in her ears. Raiden curled into an even tighter ball, not caring to stem the flow of hot, salty tears wetting her sheets and pillow.

The six years she'd been away from Konoha had been spent putting herself through rigorous, almost torturous training. She pushed her sleeve up and turned her arm over, looking at the long scars running in three straight lines down from her wrist to her elbow and winced. On the second day, finally free of the pressures of living in Konoha, she had taken one of her sharpest kunai and sliced her arm open in three deep gashes. The physical pain had momentarily distracted her from the emotional agony she was in; therefore, whenever she'd been at her lowest, she'd reopened the gouges, reminding herself that no matter how depressed or anguished she was by her brother's death, there was always worse, and it did not help to wallow in her emotions.

She'd spent each day running as hard as she could for longer than she could, pushing herself to her limit, to the point where she would collapse in the spot she'd stopped and stay there until she found the courage to stand again and keep going. She would pick fights wherever she went, no matter if her opponents were outside her league or not, and battle until she couldn't move anymore, or the man (she never fought women) she was fighting was either dead or had given up on the verge of death.

She'd stolen to survive, often going days without any decent food, her hungry stomach feeling as if it were tearing in two. There hadn't gone a day, a moment, where her muscles weren't screaming for rest, for her insane training and torture to sop, but she'd never listened, only pushed forward. Whenever she'd come to another forest, she'd climb every single tree there, up once, down once, over and over and over until her legs felt like they were going to fall off.

One time, she had come to a waterfall, not a large one, one like you would see over a small lake, and had gotten the idea to run up it. Focusing her chakra to her feet, she'd stayed there for months, practicing and practicing until she could dash up the waterfall without thinking about it.

Raiden closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the memories of the pain, of the hell she'd put herself through in her darker days, before she threw up. Her stomach churned obstinately, and she pressed her lips together in a firm line. She tried to focus on when she'd decided to come back to Konoha instead of the years spent utterly pushing herself to the edge of death.

It had been in a tiny, tiny town near the Grass village, when she'd first heard the news of the Third Hokage's death. It had come as a shock to her—she had known Orochimaru growing up, and had sometimes looked up to him as an idol. To think, even after he'd left the village, just as she'd done, that he would sink so low as to murder the Third. It made her sick to think of the sadistic, disgusting purposes that must have made their way into Orochimaru's mind if he gotten it into his head to kill Sarutobi and take over the leaf village. Although a few of the Leaf ninja had died, more of the Sound had perished. Yet she'd known Konoha would be on a tight leash for the next few months, maybe years, and a more begrudging part of her wanted to know what had become of the little boy who'd taken her brother's life.

So she'd begun her long walk to Konoha, sending a message head to the Fifth Hokage—whom she'd known would be Tsunade, since Jiraiya wasn't really interested in that sort of thing—to warn the older woman that she'd be arriving soon.

And she'd arrived, received her headband and Jounin vest she'd discarded six years ago, and been assigned to help, of all people, Hatake Kakashi's team. She knew Tsunade understood their rivalry and her bitter resentment towards him, but had gone ahead and placed her with his team. She still hadn't forgiven the Hokage for that.

Raiden jumped with another thunderous crash, and shivered even though she was under the covers. She looked sadly at the picture on her bedside table, of Minato and her, playfully punching each other. She remembered who had taken that picture, too: Jiraiya, Minato's sensei. She smiled, thinking of how Jiraiya had been irritated with their inability to stand still long enough for a simple snapshot, and how he'd finally just clicked the camera and walked away, muttering about how they'd just have to live with whatever the photo came out to look like.

Now it was her favorite photograph of her and her brother, depicting them in their great friendship that normally didn't exist between siblings. She'd have to remember to thank Jiraiya the next time she saw him. For the picture, and for showing Naruto how to activate his demon chakra before the Chunin exams.

She knew that the Toad sage would want to take Naruto under his wing soon, take him out into the world and teach him away from the prying eyes of all his friends and the other villagers in Konoha. Part of her was pretty relieved to be unburdened of Naruto, because he could really get on her nerves sometimes. But a tiny little piece of her mind was regretting having to see him go. He was growing on her, how ever slightly that may be, but it was happening despite her darkest thoughts. No matter how much she tried to tell herself that this kid had taken her brother away from her, she was beginning to look down on that theory. She was starting to think of him as her nephew, not just an annoying brat that was the cause of Minato's death.

Raiden felt her tears slow down a little bit, and sighed, closing her eyes for just a moment. Crying had really tired her out…

vvv

When Raiden woke up, it was still dark in her room, but the thundering had stopped and only the calming pitter-patter of rain on her window remained. It wasn't this that woke her, though. It was the light knocking on the door that had brought her from her welcome slumber. She begrudgingly stood up, wondering who the hell would bother her when she'd specifically asked to be left alone.

Through the peephole in her door, she was only able to make out a gray eye peering in at her, and she sighed. Great, Hatake was here. What did he want?

She opened the door, leaning against the doorframe, and crossed her arms, glaring icily up at the gray-haired man. This time, he had his mask on, but was dressed casually, without his green vest on. She ignored his black sweatpants and white t-shirt and stared him in the eyes—or eye, in his case.

"What?" she snarled, having no patience for one of the people she was currently loathing.

"I was just coming to see if you were alright," Hatake said quietly, staring kindly back at her, trying to see through the vicious glower she was giving him. She pushed off the wood frame and reached for the door.

"I've been worse," she said. "And I think you know when that was." She swung the door closed, and turned, expecting to hear it slam back into place. Instead, she heard a soft thud and a quiet grunt. Biting hard down on the inside of her mouth, she tried to think of something else that would sting Hatake right down to his heart to make him leave and turned around. "Did I not just try to slam the door in your face, or didn't you get the hint?"

Hatake sighed and pushed the door open again, stepping into the dark room. She stood in the light from the hallway, Hatake directly in front of her, her eyes piercing and utterly crackling in irritation. She did not want to be bothered right now, much less by him. She felt herself beginning to falter under his gaze, though, and rubbed one arm nervously.

"Well?" she muttered, looking at the ground. "You've seen I'm not alright, and there's obviously nothing you can do about it, so leave already."

But Hatake didn't move.

His hand reached up and touched her cheek, and she shivered at the coolness of his fingers. She brushed them away, though, and took a step backwards into the shadows of her bedroom, swallowing hard to push back another surge of hurtful recollections. Hatake's hand stayed in the air for a moment, hanging there limply as if it was still touching her face. He let it fall to his side and backed out of the room, his eyes never leaving his until he pulled the door shut and he disappeared from sight.

With a wail, Raiden threw herself down on her bed again, burying her face in her pillow and trying to forget that Hatake had just come to her room. After Minato had died, he'd come to her room every day to ask if she were alright, and she'd always tell him the same thing: No, she wasn't okay, and no, there wasn't anything he could do about it. After which he proceeded to force his way into her room and touch her cheek as comfortingly as he was able to manage. She'd always let him, too, the coolness of his fingers feeling nice against her hot, tearstained skin.

But now, she didn't want him to come near her. His very presence, the sound of his name, brought up memories that were both pleasant and painful, the sick joy she got out of seeing him every day and having his company while she struggled to remain strong. He'd been there the day Naruto had been taken away by the orphanage, every time she'd gone outside or on a mission, he was always on her team, there for support no matter how many arguments they managed to get in.

She pounded her fist into the mattress repeatedly, kicking her feet and screaming into the pillow like a teenager throwing a hissy fit to get their way. It was so frustrating, trying to stay strong and cool and bottling all these emotions up in her chest until they were about ready to burst, which was when the crying came, and normally the hollow feeling that occurred after the tears lasted for several days, just like the first few months after Minato's death.

The thought of Minato dying made cold dread spread throughout her whole body, coursing through her veins like a rapidly moving numbing solution. She hadn't gone to his funeral after his death, hadn't been able to bring herself to see him lying there in his coffin as villagers placed flowers on top of the polished white marble, drowning in their own private grief. That day she'd sat in her room, watched out the window as the sad ceremony went on a few miles away. It had rained then, too, as if the heavens were crying for the loss of such a hero on earth, but rejoicing at his arrival in whatever unearthly paradise awaited him.

She began to cry again, wondering if she'd gone to his funeral, might she had found some closure, been able to get on with her life. Would she have been able to realize her mistake and take Naruto under her wing, forgiven Hatake, and gone on to live in the village? Would she have been able to avoid all the pain and suffering she'd put herself through? She would never know, and frankly, she didn't care right now.

She rolled over on her back, stared at the ceiling, the tears running down her temples to sink into the already-dampened fabric of her red pillow. Next to her head sat the brown teddy bear with the red bow that Hatake had give her for her birthday. Seeking some sort of childish comfort, she pulled it to her and hugged it against her side. It was cool, but quickly warmed up against her hot skin. She leaned her head down and to the side and kissed the bear between the ears, not knowing what had brought on the sudden need to do so. She nuzzled into the soft fur of the stuffed animal and sighed, feeling sleep wash over her again. Maybe if she could sleep the rest of the day away, and wake up in the morning, she might feel even a little bit better…

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**I had to add a little bit of a Kakashi moment in there, and now you all know why she has no respect for poor Kakashi. He took her away from her brother when she couldn't leave him, when she had to be there for him, she had to be with him...oh, sorry, there I go again...I was just so into this chapter its not even funny.**

**Review!**

**Luv ya!**

**Nicola**


	6. Sasuke

**Wow. This chapter...i loved writing. It wasn't extenuatingly depressing, but it was sort of sad, and had a good bit of action in it, too. I hope you enjoy!**

**Nicola**

**Disclaimer: you know the drill**

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The next morning, Raiden dragged herself out to the training field for a session with Hatake and his team. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying most of the night, her throat scratchy from her wails, and overall she felt like she'd been beaten with an ugly stick. For those reasons, she didn't care about walking out still in her sleep shorts and a sports bra, and completely ignored the stares she received as she made her way to the bridge.

There waiting for her were, as usual, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. Naruto was buzzing around like one of those annoying gnats who thought you had such an interesting smell, Sakura was digging in the wood of the bridge with her kunai, and Sasuke was watching with a bored expression on his face. Typical.

The three looked up in surprise as she approached, her normally well-kept blonde hair thrown into a hasty, frizzy ponytail, her red-rimmed eyes glaring at them in her usual sneer. She walked over to Naruto, ruffled his hair in a mildly affectionate way, greeted Sakura with a wave of her hand, and stood in front of Sasuke for a moment. She studied him, curious as to what was different about him, and then she noticed: he wasn't wearing his headband.

Worry seeping into her veins, Raiden asked, "Where's your headband, kid?"

"Where's yours?" Sasuke retaliated, still looking utterly uninterested. She clenched her fists for a moment, really not in the mood to deal with his snobbish attitude, and forced herself to smile sweetly.

"I have an excuse for not wearing my headband, but you, apparently, don't." Her smile turned into a nasty smirk, her voice lowering to a hiss only he could hear, "And I'm not contemplating that little curse seal you have there on your neck."

Sasuke stiffened, and Raiden cracked her sore back, waiting for him to reply. It took him a moment, but his briefly startled expression smoothed out into a one of cool, collected serenity. "I'd like to hear that excuse."

She snorted. "If that's the best you can come up with, then you don't deserve to hear why I don't have my headband on."

"Then would you care to explain why you came to train my team dressed so casually and scantily?"

It was Raiden's turn to stiffen, and she ground her teeth together at the sound of Hatake's calm voice. Slowly she turned around and twisted her face into a silent snarl, warning the man to back of or else. "I don't have to explain myself to you," she said in a low, dangerous voice.

Hatake shrugged. "Whatever you like, _Namikaze." _

Oh no he did not just call her Namikaze.

Fighting back the urge to punch him as hard as she could—he'd be able to dodge it easily, anyway—she patted her stomach and answered in as peppy a voice she could muster up, "Oh, I just wanted to show off my nice, toned belly, is all. Got a problem with it?"

"Nope, not at all," Hatake answered, and turned to his team. "Alright, Naruto, Sakura, I want you to go work together on your chakra control and jutsu." With a nod, the kunoichi and the blonde boy set off at a quick run, with Naruto trying to challenge Sakura to a race. Hatake looked at Sasuke sternly. "You have the day off, Uchiha."

Raiden blinked, surprised. She'd expected Hatake to at least scold the boy for his lack of respect for his village, not give him the day off when he deserved a sound lashing. She gave Hatake a look that questioned his motives, but he waves it off and watches Sasuke walk off the bridge and down the lane. Hatake, as soon as Sasuke was out of sight, turned to a scowling Raiden.

"You want to know why I let Sasuke off for the day," he said and she nodded, still glaring at him. Hatake sighed. "Because he needs time to think about what's been going through that head of his."

Intrigued, Raiden wondered vaguely how Hatake could know what his student was thinking about, but retained her aloof manner and nodded for him to continue.

Again Hatake sighed, and went on, "The curse seal Orochimaru gave him holds an incredible amount of power, of which I'm sure you're familiar with." She nodded. "Well, Sasuke is beginning to learn how to activate it in battle, and is wondering what would happen if he heeded Orochimaru's call and went to train with him. The thing is," Hatake shook his head at this, "he doesn't see what Orochimaru really has planned for him. Orochimaru wants Sasuke for a body, but Sasuke is only able to think about getting revenge on his brother."

"I know how that feels," Raiden muttered, looking down at the ground below her flip-flops.

"Yes, we both know that you can sympathize," Hatake said, his tone slightly sharp, and Raiden looked back up again. His gray eye was narrowed, and she could tell he was in a no-nonsense mood. "I seriously think that Sasuke is going to go over to Orochimaru, and that there really isn't going to be much we can do about it. He's already gotten the idea in his head."

"So you want me to keep an extra eye on him?"

Hatake shook his head firmly. "No. I want you to watch out for Naruto." She looked questioningly at him, and he shoved one hand into his pocket lazily. "Sasuke is still miffed that his brother was after Naruto, not him."

Raiden remembered being told about the attack after the Chunin exams, when Jiraiya had taken Naruto with him to find Tsunade. On the way there, he'd been ambushed by the Akatsuki, the two members being Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. Naruto hadn't been able to fight back, but luckily Jiraiya got there on time to save him, just as Sasuke was arriving. Itachi and Kisame left, leaving an angry and disappointed Sasuke behind. Itachi had first been confronted with Hatake, who had fought and been placed twice under the Illusionary World Moon, the special jutsu of the Sharingan.

Having walked into Hatake's room when he was knocked out, and the room was full of the Jounin that had been there to help with Itachi and Kisame, Sasuke was quickly informed by a rather dimwitted Chunin about the return of his brother. He'd reacted immediately, rushing off to find Naruto and prevent him from Itachi. But he'd been severely angered when realizing after his arrival that his brother had not wanted to pick a fight with him, had been "uninterested" in him.

Raiden realized now that Sasuke was probably curious as to why Itachi was interested in Naruto, and not the little brother he'd spitefully allowed to live. He most likely wanted to test out how much power Naruto really possessed, and what he'd learned from Jiraiya. Raiden, too, was feeling a bit nosy in that department but understood that if Naruto did not want to tell her, she wasn't going to ask.

"I'll watch him," she promised, and Hatake looked wary of it.

"Hopefully," he finally answered, and turned, shoving his other hand into his other pocket. He called over his shoulder, "Keep an eye out over the next few days, too. I know Naruto's planning on going to visit Rock Lee soon, so it would only be fair to warn you that the hospital has also been on Sasuke's mind."

Contemplating this as she stared down into the water, Raiden remembered why she'd been assigned to this team. To protect Sasuke and Naruto from Orochimaru and the Akatsuki, Tsunade had said, and that was what she was going to do. She didn't much care for Sasuke, really, and was only concerned with the safety of her nephew. With a sigh, she looked down at her pajama attire and shook her head. What had she been thinking this morning? Oh, yeah, that her life was one big, miserable screw up and there was no way to fix any of it. And that she'd been wrong all these years about blaming an innocent child for her brother's death. Couldn't forget that part.

She threw herself down onto the wood of the bridge and played with a piece of wood sticking off of one of the old rails. Hadn't it been just a few months ago that she'd dived into the water off this bridge and reminded Hatake that she had not quite let go of her brother yet, and that she didn't plan to anytime soon? Hadn't she just recently told Naruto that he had made huge improvements in running, swimming, and aim? Hadn't Hatake commented merely last week that Naruto was looking better than he ever had?

So many things had happened already since her return to Konoha, and for some reason she still found herself almost unable to bear it all. Sure, a small weight off her shoulders had lifted when she'd taken Naruto under her wing for a few months of training, and allowed Hatake to give her a gift she didn't have to pay him back for, but the pressure of her previous life in the village was still pressing down on her, and it was beginning to get heavier and heavier.

Her mind turned back to Sasuke, and she tried to put herself in his shoes. Hypothetically, what if Minato had killed off all their family, if they'd been alive? And what if he'd run off afterwards, telling her she had no choice but to hate him and live a spiteful life without any family? Would she have wanted revenge on him? Yes, of course. But would she have hated him? Never.

But Itachi and Sasuke hadn't had the sort of relationship she'd had with Minato. They had not been close in any way, shape, or form, save for the few tender moments she knew brothers had to share. But Itachi had only been kind to his brother to make the pain even worse when he left. Minato would never have done anything of the sort—all of his kindness had come from the heart.

She touched the necklace hanging off her neck and her partially-happy expression sobered as she thought of the only fight she and Minato had ever had: the quick, but heart wrenching argument over his decision to sacrifice himself for the village. She hadn't spoken to him as he'd walked out the door, hadn't told him how much he meant to her and how much she loved him. For years she'd wondered why, and now she finally understood. It was because hearing those words would only have made the decision harder, made it much more difficult to walk through that door and face the Kyuubi, and seal the demon inside his son. Guilt was a horrible thing, and now that she experienced it first-hand every day, she would never wish it on anyone.

Raiden heaved herself to her feet again, blinking the dryness out of her eyes, and headed off to wait for Naruto at the hospital. Naruto was more likely to act on something the moment he thought of it, and if he'd only recently decided to visit Rock Lee, he would come soon, probably after a lazy practice with Sakura.

vvv

Just as she's suspected, Naruto walked into the lobby of the hospital with Sakura later that afternoon, all bright-eyed and bushy tailed from an apparently successful practice. Raiden greeted him at the door, and when he asked why she was there, she replied with a simple, "I had a hunch."

She walked them up to Rock Lee's room, and, respecting that they wanted to be alone with their friend, started walking down the hallways, seeing if she recognized any of the patients, which she highly doubted she would. She stopped on the third floor, glancing out a window that overlooked the front of the hospital. What she saw stopped her halfway through her stride and made her continue to stare out the window.

A small figure dressed in blue-gray shirt and gray pants was walking slowly up to the hospital, his hands shoved into his pockets in a manner that Raiden immediately recognized. She bristled, and watched Sasuke enter the hospital. One floor below, she'd left Naruto and Sakura visiting Rock Lee. What would happen when—not if, when—Sasuke found them? Would he confront Naruto with questions about the things he'd learned with Jiraiya, or would he go the long way around and ask for a fight? She didn't know, but neither choice she liked very much.

Heart in her throat, Raiden stayed at the window, pressing her forehead against the cool glass. She didn't know what to anticipate; just that whatever Sasuke was going to do was probably thought out and prepared for, while poor Naruto didn't know what was coming. She groaned at the image of the blonde boy being jumped by his teammate, and couldn't understand what would prompt a person to attack his friend and member of his team. It wasn't something she would do. But Sasuke wasn't like her.

Coming to the decision that she should check on her temporary students, Raiden headed for the stairs, not paying attention to the pounding footsteps already going up past the third floor, nor the quiet wail of a girl in obvious distress. She walked slowly, taking her time to reach the second floor, feeling a little bit better now that she'd convinced herself Naruto wouldn't accept to a full-blown battle between himself and Sasuke. He was smarter than that, right?

Not having a clue as to what Rock Lee's room number was, and not going to peer into every single room to find him, Raiden continued on at her turtle's pace downstairs to the front desk, where she planned to asked the receptionist what room Rock Lee was in. But there was a line, and she stood at the back of it, beginning to feel a little impatient. Something didn't feel right, and she realized that she hadn't heard Naruto's easily distinguishable voice while she was on the second floor, and it was unheard of for Naruto to go two minutes without putting his two cents in.

She peered around the rest of the people to see how long the line was, saw that it was going to take a while to ask her one question, and darted out of line, heading for the stairs. She was still in her pajamas, but she didn't care if anyone looked at her like she needed to be in the psychiatric ward. She was worried about her students, worried about what she'd talked to Hatake about earlier this morning, and worried about what Sasuke might do. She took the steps two at a time, her pace increasing with every stride, headed for the only place around she figured would make a halfway decent battle field—the roof of the hospital.

By the third staircase, she could hear the sounds of jutsu being performed, and could feel the massive amounts of chakra being used. This was getting serious, very, very serious. She went faster, as fast as she could in the narrow hallways, until she reached the fourth set of stairs. As her foot landed on the fifth step up, she heard what was obviously Sakura's screams for the two boys to stop, and gasped. Sakura was extremely irrational in tense situations, and there was no telling what she'd do to make them quit fighting each other.

The crackle of lighting reached her ears, like a thousand chirping birds, and she immediately recognized the jutsu: it was Hatake's Chidori. Dammit, if Sasuke was using it on Naruto, he was probably dead. Chidori was just about the best quick assassination jutsu you could have, and even though it took a lot of chakra to perform, the results were immense and perfect.

Raiden felt a wash of chakra that she felt out to be Naruto's, and wondered what sort of jutsu he could be using to try and counter Chidori. She was almost to the door; her hand was on the knob, when she heard the loudest explosion ever to reach her ears. She shoved the door open and gaped at the sight in front of her.

There was Sakura, skidding to an uneven stop, and Hatake in front of her, his arms out and his legs firmly planted in a stance she recognized as one used for throwing heavy weaponry away from you, if you were skilled enough to catch it, that is. And up on the two water towers were Naruto and Sasuke, both panting, both looking pretty worse for wear. The water tower Sasuke was on was literally blown into disfigurement, massive amounts of water shooting out of it and soaking the ground. Naruto's tower, however, sported only a small hole and the telltale spirals of…when had he learned that jutsu?!

Raiden was breathing hard as she stared at the spirals that were the effect of the Rasengan, the jutsu her brother had created but not quite perfected to his style. Jiraiya must have taught it to him…it was almost like Minato's trademark, almost, considering he was still thought of as the Yellow Flash. She swallowed hard and fought to control her rapid breathing as she took in the smug look on Sasuke's face. He obviously thought that his jutsu had ultimately been more powerful than Naruto's Rasengan, and he looked pretty pleased with that. She scowled; he didn't know a single thing.

"Sasuke, were you planning to kill Naruto?" Hatake's voice cut through Raiden's thoughts, and she turned her attention back to the furious man. Why did you act so childish? Chidori isn't something you use on a teammate, much less a friend. Why is it that you have to be superior?"

Raiden winced; even though Hatake's tone wasn't angry, it was obvious in the words he used, the way his gray eye narrowed, the way he gestured with his hands. She watched as Sasuke jumped off of the roof and onto a shed, where he finally got a good look at the damage Rasengan could really do—the entire back of the water tower was blown apart. She smirked at the look on his face, and she could just hear his angry thoughts. Naruto was getting stronger.

Raiden stayed in the doorway, happily ignored, as Hatake noticed Jiraiya leaning against the side of the building and questioned him on why he had taught Naruto the Rasengan, and how irresponsible it was.

Jiraiya responded with a laugh. "You're a hypocrite, Kakashi. You did the same thing by teaching Sasuke the Chidori. Although, I never expected Naruto to use the Rasengan on a comrade."

"Naruto and Sasuke have the sort of friendship that you and Orochimaru had," Hatake began to explain. "Ever since their academy days, they've been competing with each other; Naruto was always the worst in the class, Sasuke the best, and Naruto could never keep up with him. And it's still going on, and since they were assigned on the same team, it's actually gotten worse." Hatake chuckled. "But in a way, they've become friends, but still rivals." He paused, shaking his head. "Sasuke is starting to think that Naruto is becoming stronger than him, and, though he'll never admit it, it bothers him."

"Rivalry isn't something to admire."

vvv

That evening, Raiden was still going over the events of the afternoon when she saw Hatake heading towards the Uchiha district. After Naruto and Sasuke's little brawl, she'd expected him to want to give Sasuke a stern lecture about revenge and attacking his comrades, etcetera. So she followed him, keeping a distance away from him so as to stay hidden.

As he ambled through the gates, she replayed all that she had seen. Apparently, Naruto and Sasuke had been fighting furiously with each other, and it had turned deadly serious. Seeing that they would have to use their best attacks, Naruto had built up a Rasengan and Sasuke his Chidori. They'd flung themselves at each other, and Sakura, seeing the danger, ran in between them to try and make them halt their attacks. Unable to, though, they'd obviously kept going, and Hatake had prevented the jutsu from clashing by throwing them into the water towers.

Raiden knew how powerful both Genin were, but she hadn't know Naruto could do the Rasengan. As her brother's jutsu, it had always intrigued her, but she'd never learned it. Part of her wanted to know how to perform the Rasengan, not that she would ever use it anyway. It would just be another connection between herself and Minato.

She turned her attention back to Hatake, who had approached a brooding Sasuke. It her moment of though, she'd failed to notice that Hatake had already tied the Uchiha boy to a tree with his Sharingan Controlled Triple Windmill Blade jutsu, a series of thin, charka strings that more closely resembled wire. Hatake was holding the ends of the wire in his hand, watching lazily as Sasuke struggled in the bonds.

"Let me go!" she heard him demand, and the low sound of Hatake's chuckle reached her ears.

"No, I'm afraid not. You see, you're not the kid of person to just sit around and listen to a lecture—you'd rather get up and leave, so I'm forced to resort to tying you up and making you listen to me." Even from this distance, Raiden could see the fierce expression on Hatake's face. "It's time for you to forget about revenge, Sasuke."

"What?" Sasuke sounded rather dumbfounded and annoyed with his sensei. Who was he to tell him to forget about the thing he'd been living for? He didn't have anything but revenge to drive him forward.

"Well, I have seen many people like you, and those who seek revenge face a grim, terrible fate. It is rather tragic. You'll end up hurting yourself and suffering more, and even if you do succeed, the only thing after revenge is emptiness." Hatake sighed. "I should have told you this a long time ago, before you got that curse seal, but here it is anyway: I was once told that a man who seeks revenge must dig two graves."

"Just shut up already, Kakashi! What do you know?!" Sasuke snarled, and Raiden jerked backwards at the vicious tone. "Don't talk to me like you know what it's like!"

"Calm down, now," Hatake said in an irritatingly calm voice.

"The how about it? Why don't I go off and kill the person most important to you right now?" Sasuke threatened, and Raiden saw how terrorizing his face was, and shuddered. "That way you'll know what you just said is way out of line!"

"I won't really mind if you do, really," Hatake said thoughtfully, "considering I no longer have anyone important to me." His voice turned mildly pleasant. "They've all been killed already." Sasuke started, surprised. Hatake began to speak again, and in a more serious tone. "I've lived a lot longer than you have, Sasuke, and it was a pretty bad time, too. I know just as well as you do what it's like to lose important people." Raiden could see Sasuke hang his head, whether in shame or because he was thinking, she didn't know. "I'll say that we're both rather unlucky people, that's a fact. But we're not totally out of luck. We have important friends now, don't we?"

Sasuke's eyes widened, and he stole a quick glance at his sensei. Raiden felt a small drip of relief leak into her chest. She could almost see Sasuke thinking about his teammates, Sakura and Naruto, and hear him wondering how he could have ever imagined trying to kill his best friend.

Hatake's fingers loosened on the wire just a little bit. "You understand because you've lost important people in your life." He let go of the wire, and it slipped off of Sasuke, lying limply on the tree branch. "Because you have been able to make important friends, you were given the power of Chidori." The wires slipped away and disappeared. "It's not used against friends or for the sole purpose of revenge. You should know what Chidori is for. Think carefully about the truth of what I said, and if it is off or not."

With that, Hatake leapt into the tree, and vanished.

Raiden stood up from her hiding spot near the gate and jumped away from the Uchiha district, the lecture Hatake had just given Sasuke ringing in her ears. The last glimpse she'd gotten of the boy was of him hanging his head, staring at the tree bark beneath him. She knew how he felt, having lost his entire family and been forced to relive it time and time again in Tsukiomi. What Hatake had said was true—seeking revenge only ended in tragedy for both parties, and you were left with nothing afterwards. But Sasuke wasn't alone anymore. He had friends, he had a team, he had a sensei and people to talk to that he could trust. There was no way he would leave, right?

She didn't know if that were true, but she could hope. Despite her distaste for the boy, she couldn't help having become slightly attached to him over the past few months. She still preferred to work with Naruto and not the cocky Uchiha, but still, there were a few qualities she admired in him. Like his ability to focus on the mission and what was going on at the present moment, not start at anything that reminded him of his past and dwell in terrible memories, like she tended to do. Or his cool tactic in tight situations, when faced with danger and fear alike.

Hatake was a great person to talk to, she realized, wondering why she hadn't seen it before. Watching him lecture to his student to try and convince him to stay with Konoha had reminded her he was an intelligent man. It might be a good idea to go and talk with him about…that day. But she couldn't bring herself to think of it the day after its anniversary. Maybe she'd just pop in and give him a visit…

Yes, that seemed like a good idea.

She knew where his house was, and her feet carried her there by themselves, her mind still far off and thinking about Sasuke. She really hoped he wouldn't leave, that he would stay with his village and become the strong ANBU she knew he was destined to be. The Uchiha had always been a powerful clan, and with his Sharingan, she knew Sasuke would go far, if he made the right choice.

Hatake's house was a modest one, a small, simple wooden house set in a quiet area of Konoha. Not caring to knock on the door, she opened it—he never locked his doors—and walked right in. It looked the same as it always had been: bland, tasteless furniture in a tiny living room, the boringly decorated kitchen, the blank walls where pictures should have been. But, of course, this was Hatake. He wasn't much for interior decorating. She figured that he was probably in his room, pondering his conversation with his student, so she walked comfortably down the hallway and peered through the open doorway that led to his room.

She saw Hatake standing in front of the window of his green-walled room, the simple twin bed pushed up against one wall with a green blanket over it, a desk and chair against the opposite wall, a tiny stack of books behind the bed, and a set of shelves leaning on the desk. Notes were pinned up on the walls, beside the window and the bed, and a plant was resting on the sill.

Next to the plant were two photographs, sitting side by side in the sunlight. One was of Hatake and his team when he was younger, Minato above the three Genin, a small, determined-looking smile on his face. Hatake looked bored, as usual, with his two gray eyes and his mask pulled up over the lower half of his face. Obito appeared rather pleased with his team, a headstrong look over his face as he held a senbon between his teeth. And Rin looked positively giddy and shy at the same time, smiling brightly with her eyes shut.

The other photograph was of Team Seven, the current Team Seven. Sakura, in the middle was absolutely slaphappy with the team she'd been placed on. Sasuke was glaring into the camera, and Naruto was glaring at Sasuke, with his arms crossed firmly over his chest. Hatake stood behind them, obviously smiling sheepishly under his mask, one hand on Naruto's head, the other on Sasuke's. Raiden wondered what he was thinking as he looked at this picture, and suddenly didn't feel right interrupting.

As she backed quietly out of the doorway and started heading down the hallway, she heard Hatake call, "You weren't interrupting anything, Raiden. Come back here."

Dammit. Hatake always could hear her, even when no one else was able to. She slowly walked back into his bedroom and stood nervously just inside the door; why, she didn't know, because she'd been in his room dozens of times before, and she'd never been uncomfortable. Of course, there were…extenuating circumstances that made it a little difficult.

"So, what was it you wanted to visit me about?" Hatake asked, turning away from the window to look at her, a pleasant expression on his face. "Was it about the lecture you heard me giving Sasuke? Hmm, I was hoping it would teach you something, too."

"Teach me something?" Raiden couldn't believe he had just said that. Okay, so maybe his lecture had opened her eyes a little bit, but for him to have meant it to do that, along with reminding Sasuke of how he wasn't alone and revenge wasn't everything, was just out of line. She shook her head. "I…came here to talk to you, Hatake, but I think it's a little too late to do something like that." She took a step backwards toward the door. "Sorry I bothered you."

She turned and walked rapidly down the hallway, and heard Hatake say quietly to himself, "Or maybe it was just a little too soon, yet."

vvv

The next morning, Raiden was walking upstairs to have morning tea with Tsunade when she heard quickly running feet pounding up the stairs after her. She sighed, wondering what it could be that was wrong now. Tsunade had invited her to come to her office for tea last night, and she'd been looking forward to spending some time with her—mildly hoping Jiraiya would be there, too—until now.

She stepped aside as Hagane Kotetsu and his friend Izumo ran past, and grabbed onto Izumo's collar before he could get very far. He struggled in her grip and Kotetsu stopped to wait for his friend.

"What's going on?" she asked fiercely, holding Izumo up close to her face. The Chunin looked frightened for a moment before answering.

"Uchiha Sasuke left the village," he gasped out, and Raiden dropped him, ushering him and Kotetsu forward up the stairs. She followed at their heels, her mind spinning with the news. Sasuke had left? No! It had only been yesterday that she'd been sure he would remain in Konoha. But if Kotetsu and Izumo were delivering the sad news to Tsunade, it must be true…

"How do you know this?" Tsunade demanded as soon as they'd told her what had happened.

"We found Haruno Sakura lying on a bench in the park," Kotetsu answered, "and when we woke up her, she started screaming for Sasuke and crying. We managed to get it out of her what had happened, and we came straight here to tell you."

Raiden could see that Tsunade was thinking exactly what she was: Orochimaru was at the bottom of this, his mark was everywhere. She shook her head and tried to tell Tsunade with her eyes how strongly she'd believed Sasuke would remain with the village, but Tsunade just looked at the two Chunin in front of her.

"Go get me Nara Shikamaru," she demanded, and the young men left without another word. Tsunade gestured for Raiden to sit down, she obeyed, and forced her shaking hands to calm their nerves.

"I can't believe this happened," Raiden said, looking down at her lap. "He had looked like he was going to stay in Konoha yesterday, after Hatake had talked to him. I just don't understand."

"No one understands why a person would leave their village," Tsunade said sharply, and Raiden winced, knowing just what the Fifth Hokage was hinting at. "It's a terrible crime and most of those who return lose the respect they'd earned. But others are placed back in the position they held before."

Raiden was silent, wringing her hands nervously as she took in what the Hokage had said. It really wasn't fair that she'd been given her previous title back so easily without having really earned it. There were dozens of people who had deserted the Leaf village and come back only to have a jail cell waiting for them. But she hadn't. She'd been welcomed with open arms, handed her vest and headband, and given a job to do. When it came down to it, she hadn't earned any of it, didn't deserve the kind treatment of others.

In a few moments, the door to the Hokage's office opened again and a bored looking Shikamaru walked in, chewing lightly on a toothpick. He nodded towards Raiden with a quick but calculating glance and bowed to the Hokage before sitting down next to the young blonde woman in front of the desk.

"So, what's this all about?" he asked in his droning, lazy voice.

"Uchiha Sasuke has left the village," Tsunade said much to Shikamaru's surprise. The Chunin gaped at her, his eyes wide. "I need you to collect a team of the strongest Genin and go after him. You have thirty minutes to find your team and come back here to report to me."

"I'm sorry to tell you this," Shikamaru began, "but I really do think that Orochimaru will have his men protecting Sasuke at all costs. It wouldn't be fair to send out inexperienced Genin when this mission is really suited for experienced Chunin and Jounin."

"I would if I could, but most of the Jounin are already busy," Tsunade replied, looking suddenly drawn and worried. "Thirty minutes. Oh, and I've picked one of the Genin you'll be taking: Naruto."

vvv

Raiden stood on the bridge, watching the water flow rapidly under her feet. An hour ago, Shikamaru, Neji, Chouji, Kiba, and Naruto had left to chase after Sasuke. Naruto had promised a crying Sakura that he would bring back Sasuke for sure, no doubt about it. Raiden felt a tug at her heart at the thought—she knew the chances of bringing Sasuke back to Konoha were slim to none; now that he'd gotten the idea in his head to train with Orochimaru, there was no turning back for him.

She sighed and sank onto her haunches, resting her forehead against one of the old, splintering rails. It hurt to have to watch all those brave Genin—plus one Chunin—head off on a mission they couldn't complete. There was no way they were bringing that Uchiha back. He was as stubborn as every Uchiha before him; once he got an idea in his head, that was it. He was gone.

How Naruto would take his friends betrayal, she didn't know, but it wasn't going to end nicely.

* * *

**How depressing. Poor Sasuke left teh village, even after Kakashi poured his heart out in a very long lecture, at least for Kakashi.**

**I based this off the actual events that occured in the anime and manga, so I hope you all liked it, because it sort of helps the relationship between Raiden and Kakashi for something bad to happen to the team she'd become close to. And you all know what happens when Naruto comes back--he wants to go off and train with Jiraiya. How will Raiden handle that? You'll find out.**

**LUv ya, and Review!**

**Nicola**


	7. Relationships

**Okay, this one took me a while. I was plagued by writers block, but hey, I got it done. :D So...yeah, we had a pep rally yesterday and Juniors won!!! WHOOO!!!! And we won our first football game yesterday HOORAHHH!!! So it sort of inspired me to write, and plus I reread your reviews adn I was like, I gotta do this! **

**Anyway, here u go!**

**Nicola**

**Disclaimer: duh. you know it. **

* * *

Sasuke had left the village, possibly for good. Raiden, walking through the village, felt a nervous flutter in her stomach. She knew what it was like to leave your home, but she'd always known she'd return eventually, even if it was only to be buried here with her brother. But Sasuke was a different story. No one knew if he was planning on coming back, whether as friend or foe.

She shook her head, running a nervous hand through her flowing blonde hair. It was the day after that horrible anniversary, and here she was fretting about the well-being of a kid she didn't even like all that much. What was wrong with her? She should be more worried about herself, and how she was going to deal with all of this pain and worry all in one day.

Well, maybe the root for her worries was really Naruto. Yeah, that had to be it. Naruto, her nephew. Naruto, her brother's son. Naruto, the one she'd placed all of her hopes on. Okay, so she had already started imagining him as the Hokage someday—she didn't know who was going to take over after Tsunade either retired or passed on. It certainly wouldn't be herself. Though she had the blood for it, she knew she wasn't emotionally stable to take on the role her brother had. And Naruto seemed the only likely candidate left.

Another sigh escaped her lips and she rubbed her forehead, vaguely wondering where she was going. Oh, who cares. Wherever it was, it was probably more interesting than the contents of her screwed-up mind. She was such a freak.

Raiden found herself walking past the gates of Konoha, the gates that she knew Sasuke had walked through as he'd left the village. She saw someone just outside those gates and paused to look. The "someone" was tall, and his entire stature was lazy. She saw him dig a scroll out of his pouch, bite his thumb, and press the scroll to the ground. In a moment, several barking, whining dogs were in front of him, and she could hear the murmur of his voice as he talked to the calmest of the dogs, the one she knew to be named Pakkun.

Raiden wrinkled her nose and turned away, intending on heading back to the temple and seek refuge in her room. But as her feet carried her down the streets, she realized she was going towards Hatake's house. She shrugged; maybe it would be okay to visit his house…even though he wasn't home. She could snoop a bit and see if he still kept a few relics around….

The small wooden house came into view, and she carefully controlled her pace; she knew she was excited, but that didn't mean she was going to risk anyone seeing it. If all went like she hoped, the neighbors would think her visit to Hatake's house was merely one dealing with missions or something. She ambled—with some difficulty—up to his front door and pushed it open.

She was met, once again, by the house's bland interior, and sighed. Hatake had never been one to decorate. She remembered some time many, many years ago when the house had had pictures and paintings and little wooden hangings with sayings on them everywhere. She could visualize the pictures now, each on the exact spots on the walls, the coffee tables, the mantle above the tiny fireplace.

Her eyes raked over one of the far walls; she knew she was getting close to where a certain tender photograph had hung, and she fought to control her heartbeat. She halted her gaze on the spot where it was supposed to be, and her hopes fell. Of course. It wasn't there. Why should it be, anyway? It wasn't as if it meant anything to either of them anymore, definitely not her. Most definitely not her.

She swallowed and walked past the kitchen, not caring to look inside. The room she really wanted to investigate was Hatake's own room, the place where she used to be able to go for comforting words and a good friend's company. As always, his room was green—really, had she expected it to change in a few hours?—and boring, mostly empty except for the bed, bookcase, desk, and plant on the windowsill. And the two pictures.

She took slow steps over to the bed and sat down, hands resting on the rough green comforter. Nothing had really changed from the last time she'd been in here—really been in here—and, considering that Hatake was a creature of habit, she really shouldn't have expected it to. She sighed and surveyed the room, a little smile tugging at her lips as she took in all the little nooks and crannies and shelves and scratches she knew so well. Back then, Hatake had been her best friend. And now, she didn't know what they were.

Rising from the bed and going over to the neat little desk, Raiden tugged one of the small drawer's open and peered inside. It was full of pens, carefully stacked papers, documents, and other paraphernalia Raiden sat down on the desk chair and started shifting through the slips of paper. She saw notes, old mission assignments, receipts, and a lot of other junk she really didn't care about.

She noticed the corner of an older, more wrinkled piece of paper sticking out from a bunch of receipts and tugged it free. The side facing her read: _Jounin Exams, Raiden. _Blinking, Raiden flipped the paper over. Why would Hatake have something from the Jounin Exams involving her?

On the other side, she saw her own young face grinning back at her. She gaped, staring at the two figures on the old photograph and finally realizing what the words on the back meant. It had been the day she'd passed her Jounin exams. She'd just finished the last portion of the test—she didn't even want to think of how hard that had been—and was out celebrating with Minato and a few others. In the picture, her twelve-year-old self was grinning like an idiot with an arm slung around the shoulders of a lazy-postured boy about her age or a year older. Under his mask, you could tell he was grinning. He had his arm around her waist, and was holding her to him.

Raiden stared down at the picture, her mouth agape in shock. She remembered that day exactly. Just after she'd been named a Jounin—won the Jounin exams, really—she'd been swept out for a celebratory night on the town by Hatake, Minato, and her two teammates, who had also become Jounin, Kei and Ben. They went out to the ramen shop, of course, ate as much as they could, gotten ice cream cones, and went out for a night of dancing and hanging out at the bar, although Minato had been the only one old enough to get some sake.

And Hatake—then Kakashi to her—had asked her to dance, and from then on they hadn't been separated the rest of the night, and the next few days, too. She smiled, thinking of the wonderful time spent together. But then her heart wrenched at what had happened two years after that, and she placed the picture back in the drawer, closing it.

Why did she have to be plagued by such terrible thoughts all the time, all those memories she didn't want? Why was she cursed with the remembrance of the day that had ruined her life? Why was it her, and not anyone else? Those questions had nagged her every day since Minato had died, and still did, never relenting in their quest to make her life a living hell. And they were damn good at it, too.

She stood up from the chair and walked out of Hatake's bedroom, not wanting to deal with any more memories right now. She dragged her feet to the living room and was reach for the door when it suddenly opened itself. A gasp escaped her lips as an equally astonished Hatake paused in his entrance to his house.

"Umm…" Hatake tilted his head and gazed curiously at the woman standing in front of him, in his living room, uninvited. "Is there any particular reason you're in my house?"

"N-not really," Raiden stammered, and mentally cursed herself for showing that small sign of weakness. She quickly iced herself over and continued, "Just coming for a visit, is all. I'll be on my way." She brushed past Hatake, but he grabbed her arm and stopped her. She turned, glaring, to stare at him.

"If you came for a visit, why are you leaving the moment I get home?" Hatake wanted to know, and Raiden bit the inside of her mouth.

"To tell you the truth, I wasn't visiting you. I was visiting more…welcome things," she said, having decided that being vague was better than being open about her real reasons for coming to Hatake's house when he wasn't there. "So I'm leaving. Good bye."  
But Hatake followed her.

She ground her teeth together in irritation, thinking up ways to possibly get rid of Hatake without being overly kind. Maybe if she brought out the whole "I-have-no-respect-for-you-so-go-away-and-don't-look-back" routine. Or if she just reminded him that he was the reason she'd left in the first place and it wouldn't be good for him to repeat his actions. No, those seemed a little too mean, even if he deserved it.

Deciding the best tactic was, as always, to ignore Hatake into talking, she proceeded to pay attention to everything but the man walking next to her, from the bees in the flowers to the people walking around. But she was still hyper aware of Hatake being just behind and to the left of her, and her nerves were on end from him being so close. She didn't know why—she still resented him with every bone in her body, every part of her telling her that he was not someone to behold trust in or care for. And yet…

She could feel him coming just slightly closer with every step, closing the already tiny gap in between them as inconspicuously as he could. She knew him well, though, and even if he was just as skilled as she was, it wasn't hard to figure out what he was trying to do. Still, her instincts told her to keep acting oblivious to his presence, but it was becoming harder and harder to do, since he kept inching his way closer, and closer.

His arm brushed up against hers, and she struggled to keep from shivering. Though he was dressed in his ANBU clothes, as he was most of the time in public, she could still feel the warmth of his skin. She gnawed on the inside of her mouth, focusing on the pain and not the old, pressed down feelings rising up in her chest. Her right hand rubbed her left arm, where she could feel the slightly lifted skin representing the scars she'd inflicted on herself. Pain, not emotion. Just pain, think of the pain.

Her nails dug into her skin slightly over one of the deep scars, and she let out a sharp gasp of pain. The nerves in her scars, though damaged, were still very sensitive to any prick or pressure. It hurt much more to scratch that one part of her arm than any other part of her body.

Hatake noticed her little gasp, and took one long stride so he was not walking directly next to her. She saw his eye dart down at the scars on her arm she was rubbing and digging into, but he didn't say anything, and for that she was grateful. She wasn't in the mood to have him lecture her about inflicting purposeful bodily harm to herself just for the rush of endorphins it gave her. Though that wasn't the endorphins that had brought on the cutting. She had never cut another part of her body other than the three gashes in her arm. It was the reminder that there were worse things than having lost a brother, that there was a physical pain that could combat her torn emotions.

Their walking slowed to a turtles pace, and Raiden finally turned to look at her old friend. He was watching her, lazily, of course, but nonetheless watching her. She held the gaze of his gray eye, not noticing that they'd stopped walking altogether. He was so annoying, so irritatingly calm and collected all the time, so well-educated in the workings of her mind. He knew so much about her, too much, really, and probably knew just how to play it to his advantage. And there wasn't anything she could do about it.

Hatake's partially-gloved hand reached and touched her arm, her left arm, where the scars were. She looked down at the pale, cold fingers resting on her skin and watched as he traced the outline of each piece of raised pink skin.

"Where did you get these?" he asked in that bored voice of his. She jerked her arm away and held it protectively at her side.

"Nowhere that you need to know about, Hatake," she growled in as menacing a tone as she could muster, which wasn't much. She tried to concentrate on making herself intimidating, but it wouldn't come, and she swallowed hard, knowing that in a few moments Hatake would have the story out of her.

"You did this to yourself." It wasn't a question, just a statement of fact, and she nodded unwillingly. Hatake looked sharply down at her; she hadn't realized how much taller he was. "Why?"

"Because," she said, meeting his cutting gaze with a firm one of her own. "I had to deal with the pain, and in case you haven't noticed, I'm a lot less of a wreck than I was back then." Okay, it sounded juvenile. But what other choice did she have? She couldn't think of a comeback that fast to a question like his. It was so vague!

"And you just couldn't come to anyone to ask for help." Hatake's tone had turned mocking, angry, and he looked upwards as if he couldn't stand to look at her. "Because you're so damn stubborn about everything, and just refuse to ask for help. Not even from the person who tried to help you, who tried to get you through that swamp you'd thrown yourself in. But you were pigheaded about it. And now you're suffering ten times more because you had to resort to bodily harm to try and help yourself." He looked back at her, and she winced at the viciousness in his sneer. When had he become so hostile?

He turned on his heel to walk away, and foolishly, she called out to him. "Wait, Hatake!"

"What?" he snarled, and she couldn't remember ever seeing him so mean. "You want me to sympathize with you or something?" He scoffed. "Just in case you've forgotten, Namikaze, I don't have anyone left I care about, either. My father's dead, my mother's dead, my teammates are dead, and the only people I have to converse with are a bunch of drunk Jounin and three bratty kids. And now one of them has run off to join Orochimaru, which means I failed my job, and I can't help him. So if you want to be a whiny little child and get some sympathy, go somewhere else, Raiden. We all have our sob stories."

She watched him go in utter shock, never having seen his shoulders shake in anger, or his gray eye narrow so dangerously. She found that she was shivering, probably from the hostile tone of his voice, the malevolent way he'd looked at her. And then, through the shock, she felt guilt.

Hatake was right—she was just a whiny little kid who wanted everyone to sympathize with her just because she'd lost her brother thirteen years ago. That wasn't right, it wasn't fair. She hadn't realized how unkind she'd been to everyone, how unfair and unjust. She'd wanted all the attention, all the kindness, all for herself, and hadn't seen how the other person was living. Especially Hatake.

He'd always been there for her, comforting her, never forgetting a birthday or a holiday, paying her a visit on the thirteenth anniversary of Minato's death, putting up with her snide little comments and cocky attitude, and not protesting her assisting in the training of his team. And here she was, not even seeing that Hatake himself was living in an utter hell. Obito had died for him, Rin soon after, his father had perished when he was a young child, and she wasn't even sure he'd know his mother at all. His friends weren't really friends, his team just a bunch of bantlings, and now one of them had left for good. And he was blaming himself.

She took a shaky breath, feeling the weight of all this pressing down on her. She knew now what a terrible person she was, and that she never had meant for her emotions to get in the way of her relationships, but they did, always.

Fighting the urge to take off after Hatake and apologize ten times over—he wasn't the nicest person when he was in a fury, she was learning—Raiden broke into a run, heading for the one place she knew she'd be really alone to have a one-sided conversation with the one person who would truly listen.



Standing in front of the black memorial stone, looking down at one of the names carved into it, Raiden felt like the whole world was about to come crashing down. She was staring at Minato's name, feeling all those old emotions rushing up on her again, and the tears springing to her eyes. She dropped to her knees at the foot of the stone and took a deep breath.

"Minato," she whispered, finding she couldn't bring her voice any louder, "I really need help. I…I don't know what to do. I came back, I came back for you and for the village, because I knew they'd need help. But now that I'm here…it's all been very difficult." She heard herself babbling and couldn't stop. "Naruto's grown up amazingly well, and even though I know you're terribly disappointed in me, he's been raised right, even if it wasn't the way you'd planned. He's determined, like you, and very outspoken, like Kushina. He looks just like you." She paused.

"And he's got friends now, Hata—Kakashi, I mean, is his sensei, and the Uchiha boy is on his team. There's a girl, too, Haruno Sakura, who he has a huge crush on, and I think they'd make a cute pair if she'd get over Sasuke and realize what an amazing boy Naruto is. And Kakashi is the same as always, boring, lazy, late for everything." She chuckled lightly. "Just like Obito.

"The village is doing great, too," she went on, still wondering why she was telling all this to a stone. "It's up and running, and even though it's still sort of teetering on the scale, I think it can handle it. Besides, that's why I came back. To help Konoha in its time of need, just like you'd want me to. Oh, and I know Jiraiya would want me to add him in here, too, because I know whenever he's here he comes and pays a quiet visit. Tsunade's become a great Hokage, and really knows how to lead the village. She lets Naruto call her Granny Tsunade and Old Lady all the time."

Raiden hesitated, hoping that Minato wouldn't be too disappointed when she continued speaking.

"But Kakashi and I had a pretty bad row today." She took a deep breath again. "I left about six years after the Kyuubi attack, because I couldn't handle the pressure of it. Being your little sister, having people compare my looks to Naruto's, and watching him grow up in a literal hell and knowing I caused it. It all started to become too much for me, so I chickened out and left. And…I resorted to things you wouldn't approve of when I did leave.

"That's why Kakashi and I were fighting. He saw the scars on my arm—only three, I swear, but they're deep, because I kept reopening them whenever I started to feel upset again—and he flipped. He told me exactly what I needed to hear, too. I am a stupid childish brat who just wants everyone to sympathize. I hadn't realized how much he had gone through, too, but now I do, and I see how much of a stuck-up idiot I've been."

She felt the tears slipping out of her eyes and brushed one hastily off her cheek. "Minato, I just don't know what to do anymore. You know that before you…died…Kakashi and I were getting very close. But then all that happened, and he took me away from you." Her voice began turning furious. "He took me away from you when you died! I hated him for it, I still do. I told him to leave me alone, to let me take care of you, but he wouldn't. He dragged me away!" She was reaching hysterics now, and couldn't find the reserves to stop it. "Damn you, Minato! If you hadn't died everyone's lives wouldn't be the way they were! Why did you have to be so stupid and heroic for? You'd only been Hokage for a few months, not even a year! Couldn't you have thought of something else to do, instead of sacrificing yourself?!

"You left me alone! You left Kushina with a child possessed by a demon, and she left! She left me with the baby! I was fourteen, Minato, I couldn't take care of a child, and I didn't want it. Every time I looked at that…that…_thing_, all I could see was you falling down and your eyes all glassed over, dead. I couldn't look at it! So I gave him to the orphanage, and he grew up in hell. And I watched." She was shaking, not from the sobs, but from bottled up fury. "I watched as he was jeered at and looked down on and ignored by everyone else. I watched when he cried because he didn't have anyone to care about, and when he turned to acting up just to get attention.

"And dammit, I know it was all my fault!" She shoved her fists into the ground, keeping herself from hitting the black stone as hard as she could. "I just stood back and let it all happen. I couldn't stepped in, and told Naruto who I was, and taken him in and raised him and told him all about you and Kushina and the demon inside of him, just like you wanted me to. But I didn't. I just let it all go. And then I left."

She couldn't find the energy to speak any more, but forced herself to. "Now my life's ruined, and I can't blame you, because if only I'd listened everything would have been fine." Her voice was low and husky from the racking sobs. "I don't even have the respect of my best friend any more. I…I can't even call him by his name. I just talk to him like he's and infernal piece of junk, as if he didn't matter to me, but he does. He matters to me more than anything, and now he hates me. I guess that's what I get."

She sat there and sobbed dryly, the tears never coming, her face hot and flushed, and yet still cold. She shivered and stared blankly at the name carved into the stone. It was all her fault, and she'd brought this all on herself. There was nothing Minato could do about it, nothing she could do about it. She'd just have to live with what she'd done.

It wasn't long before her sides and chest ached too much to cry anymore, and she shifted until she was kneeling, ignoring the protests of her stiff limbs. She reached out and touched the carving, tracing the name with her fingers, wondering if he had heard her. No, he probably hadn't. But that didn't matter—she had still said it, still gotten it off of her chest.

Sniffling, she got to her feet, her mouth dry, her throat throbbing, feeling like she'd been clubbed by a thousand bowling balls. She slowly began to drag herself down the path back to the village, her mind utterly foggy and blank. There wasn't anything she had to think about anymore. It was all set in stone now. Hatake and herself would never be anything more than hateful acquaintances, there was nothing she could do to make up for what she'd done to Naruto, and she would never get rid of the guilt that plagued her.

Halfway to Konoha, she realized that it was dimly bright, the kind of colorful brightness you only got at sunrise, and she halted, staring up at the sky. Had she been here all night? Probably, she didn't know how long she'd screamed at the deaf stone or lay at its feet, weeping without tears. She sighed, feeling worn and longing for her bed, and continued on the way back to Konoha.

But near there, she stopped her reluctant plunge to the village and listened, her head cocked to the side. She could hear rustling, like leaves, like someone jumping through the trees in an obvious rush. Blinking in confusion she stared up in the direction the noise was coming from, and was barely able to catch a glimpse of a tall figure carrying another, smaller person before they disappeared.

She sighed and shook her head. Who could that have been? As she pondered over the possibilities in her hazy mind, she heard a tiny but urged woof from somewhere near her feet. She looked down, and saw to her amazement Pakkun sitting there, an urgent look on her face.

"What's the matter?" Raided asked, instantly alert. If Pakkun was here, then that must mean the figure rushing by had been Hatake, and that the person he'd been carrying must have been…

"We tracked down the Uchiha kid and Naruto," Pakkun said in her scratchy, deep voice, "and we managed to bring Naruto back, but he's pretty beat up. I figured you'd want to know." Pakkun turned to leave, then looked over her shoulder. "Come on. I'll explain on the way there."



Raiden paced impatiently in the waiting room of the hospital, Pakkun watching from her place on the chair. It had been two hours, and yet they still wouldn't let Raiden in to see her nephew, and she was getting irritated.

She shot a nasty look at the receptionist, who promptly ignored her and continued scribbling on her paper. Raiden huffed out a breath and looked up at the clock for the umpteenth time, all previous tiredness and depression forgotten, for the moment, at least.

Soon after she'd arrived with Pakkun, other ninja had brought in the other members of the team that had gone after Sasuke. Neji was in the worst condition—nearly dead, from what she'd gathered. The others would most likely pull through, but Naruto and Neji had gotten the butt of the attacks. Although Naruto's demon would probably help him heal faster.

Again, she glared at the receptionist, who shot her a nasty look in return. She curled her lip in a snarl and returned to her pacing. She needed to see Naruto, and now. He had been through hell and back, taking Sasuke on by himself and facing the curse seal head on. He was a brave kid, she'd give him that. Definitely his parents' son.

The doors to the intensive care unit opened, and Raiden turned hastily to look, only to glance down again in embarrassment and shame. Hatake had come back into the waiting room, and now nodded at Pakkun, who disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Raiden heard him walking over to her, and stopped her pacing to look up at him.

He looked drawn, tired, worried, and apologetic. She didn't know why he had this sorry little look on his face, but she knew she had to tell him something.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, locking her blue eyes on his gray one. "I was stupid, and reckless, and thoughtless, and wallowing in self-pity. I know I did wrong, and I'm sorry for it. I should be over Minato by now, and even if I'm not, I shouldn't make others bear the burden, too. Really, Hata—Kakashi, I'm sorry."

For a moment, the Copy ninja looked slightly taken aback, and then he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, Raiden," he murmured. "Come on. We need to take a walk."

* * *

**Awww! they're going to go take a walk!!! how sweet! Lol, anyway, I know you wanted to have Sasuke come back, btu I couldn't do it. Now I gotta go bathe my pony, so read and review! **

**Luv ya**

**Nicola**


	8. Remembering Us

**Okay, this one took me a while to write, only because of stupid projects and stuff, but I wanted to get it done before my sixteenth birthday (which is tomorrow, YAY!!!!). So...have fun reading! **

**Nicola**

* * *

Hatak—Kakashi led Raiden out of the hospital, his firm hand on her shoulder steering her in the correct direction down a long, tree-lined path. She shrugged his hand off as they began walking on the pathway and crossed her arms over her stomach, feeling butterflies whipping around wildly. She wished they'd go away.

Kakashi didn't say anything, so neither did she, and she wondered why they had gone on this little walk in the first place if they weren't going to talk. It didn't bother her too much, though, because at the moment she was feeling lower than low. Her nephew was in the hospital—and if anything happened to him she would die, because he still didn't know who she was—Kakashi was apparently mad at her, and she still wasn't able to get rid of the guilt, even after apologizing and talking to her brother. Well, okay, so she only talked to his name carved into the stone, but so what?

As they strode slowly down the pathway, Kakashi with his hands stuck in his pockets as usual, Raiden noticed something. The cherry trees lining the walkway looked oddly familiar, and, as she looked ahead, so did that Sakura-petals-covered bench. They approached it, almost warily she noted, and she ran her hand over the surface. It was rough, and a little bumpy, but it was just as she remembered. Her chest tightened as she recalled why she knew this bench.

She swallowed hard and shook her head to get the hair out of her face. It was starting to come out of its ponytail and the slight breeze kept blowing it into her eyes. A quick glance to her left told her Kakashi was staring off into nothingness, probably in a reverie of his own, and she sighed. As long as he was silent, and not paying attention, she could think.

_It was the day after the Jounin exams, and twelve-year-old Raiden was still on a literal high. Minato was extremely proud of her, and last night, he'd told her over and over and over again. At least, whenever he could get her by herself, which hadn't happened often, considering she'd been surrounded by her teammates and Kakashi._

_A shy grin made its way across her face and she ducked her head, not wanting any of the passerbies to see her blush. Kakashi had been stuck to her like glue last night, his excuse being that he wanted to keep all the drunken older men away from her, but she knew him better. If she was right, the handsome thirteen-year-old had been overly-protective at the bar, and beforehand, even getting ice cream! There had to be a reason for that._

_Her heart thudded rapidly in her chest as she repeatedly thought his name. Kakashi. Kakashi. Kakashi. Her brother had trained him and his team, whose member Obito had already sadly perished. She remembered his face that day, and for weeks afterwards he'd stayed at the memorial stone, just staring down at Obito's name, lost in his own thoughts._

_She sighed, and realized she was close to the hospital. Oh, good. Kakashi had asked for her to meet him there so they could spend the day hanging out. She felt butterflies fluttering around in her stomach and sped up, looking for the familiar gray-haired boy. _

_Up ahead, she spotted him, and burst into a quick jog, reaching him in no time. She'd opened her mouth to say "hello" when her breath caught in her throat and she stared at him in shock. There wasn't anything really abnormal about his outfit—a loose white t-shirt and jeans, but he wasn't wearing a mask. The only part of his gorgeous, young face covered up was his Sharingan eye—it still took too much energy out of him to leave it revealed. _

_She swallowed hard again and smiled, holding her hand up in a greeting. For a moment there she'd been stunned, but she was okay now. Perfectly fine. "Hey, Kakashi." _

_"Hey," he said, a smirk playing on his lips. She felt her stomach flip over and took a deep breath to settle it. Reminding herself to calm down, she fell into step beside Kakashi as he started to walk down the pathway next to the hospital. It was a little dirt path, lined with Sakura trees, and sprinkled with little pink petals._

_She let her arms rest by her sides and resisted the urge to put her hands into her pockets. Really, that was more of a Kakashi habit. If she actually had to work to keep from doing that, she was hanging around him way too much. _

_But apparently, things were working in her favor at the moment, because Kakashi reached out and grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers together. She had to fight to control her heartbeat and keep from hyperventilating, but she managed, and let her hand relax in his. His hand was so warm, and so gently tied itself together with hers. She sighed in contentment and relaxed. _

_Her heart was still speeding about in her chest, and she was vaguely afraid that he would hear it and make fun of her. But she didn't say anything, and he didn't seem to notice—or he could've just been pretending not to notice but, whatever. She used her other hand to brush her blonde hair from her face and fluffed it a little. Up ahead, she saw a bench, and Kakashi seemed to see it, too._

_He led her over to it, and they sat down, still hand-in-hand. They watched as a nurse walked by pushing a wheelchair with an elderly patient in it, and as two elderly men—one on crutches, the other on a cane—strode by, chattering quietly to each other. Raiden looked down at the bench, noticing how rough its texture was, but that it didn't seem to be the kind of wood that gave out splinters to anyone who ventured with two inches of it. It was bumpy, too, but the scenery around it and the petals at her feet made it seem beautiful. _

_Suddenly, she felt Kakashi take his hand out of hers and she looked to see why. She met both his eyes—the Sharingan and the normal gray one. Her mouth was suddenly dry as she stared into his intense gaze. He seemed to be trying to tell her something, to ask her something, but she didn't understand it. And…why did he seem to be so close to her? She felt him take her hand again and hold it tightly in his own. His other hand reached up and touched her cheek, and she closed her eyes at his touch. _

_And then, his lips were on hers._

_It was a soft kiss, shy and gentle, and she kissed him back with only the quickest of hesitations. She put her hand on his chest, her other still entwined with his, and sighed through her teeth. When he pulled away, she saw an emotion on his face she hadn't seen before—something like shyness, or maybe a feeling she couldn't recognize. Whatever it was, she knew it was mirrored on her own face, and she smiled. _

_The smile he gave her in return was dazzling, crooked, adorable. She felt faint just looking at it. He put his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into the curve of his arm, feeling quite comfortable and at home there. Her stomach still flittered with nervous butterflies, but they were so urgently flapping around now. She sighed, wondering what Minato would think when he figured out—or when she told him—what was going on. Her smile widened. He was just as fond of Kakashi as she was. _

Raiden felt her lips pulling up into a smile, one that she really didn't want anyone to see right now, so she forced herself to think again of poor Naruto lying in the hospital without anyone there to hold his hand, brush the hair out of his eyes, and tell him everything was going to be okay. She licked her lips and reached up to tug the band in her hair out. Her blonde locks fell frizzy over her shoulders and she began to comb through them with her fingers, trying to smooth them out as best as she could.

They, she and Kakashi, walked right past the bench, and she felt a little sad about it. A small part of her had hoped that maybe they'd stop and begin the talk she knew was coming, but no. They were going to walk a little further.

Her eyes darted towards Kakashi again, and she saw that he was no longer staring into oblivion, but watching the ground beneath his feet, not as out there as he'd been a few moments ago. Again her mouth wanted to grin, but she stopped herself and proceeded to comb her hair up into a ponytail. As she was tying it off with her hair band, she stole another glance at the man next to her. This time, he met her gaze and held it.

Nervous and irritated at the same time, she said, "So why are we on this walk again?"

Kakashi chuckled lightly. "Oh, I just wanted to speak with you in private, is all. But not here," he added as she looked at another bench as they passed it. "A little further along." He sighed and tilted his head. "We might as well start now, though. It's going to be a long morning. "

Raiden swallowed and chewed on her bottom lip, curious as to what he wanted to speak about. She couldn't help but wonder if they would get back in time to see Naruto when he woke up; he was still her nephew—she loved him to death, and even though she never would admit it, she was praying he'd be just fine, for her brother's sake and her own.

"Ever since you came back," Kakashi began, and Raiden turned her attention back to him, "everything's been…different. Lady Tsunade asked you to attend to my team to protect Naruto and Sasuke, giving me the biggest shock of my life. But there you were, and we couldn't do anything about it." He shook his head, amused. "I figured that you wouldn't take to Naruto, and you didn't at first. I was very surprised when you asked to train him, you know."

"The kid's aim was terrible," Raiden defended her decision, becoming indignant again. "I had to do something. It was disgraceful." She shot him a glare. "Besides, you weren't teaching him anything new. You just let him go off on his own."

"There's where you're wrong," Kakashi said, smiling under his mask. "I did teach Naruto something—how to teach himself what he wanted to learn."

"Well he sure as hell wasn't very good at it," Raiden muttered, and Kakashi laughed out loud. She looked at him like he was crazy and playfully punched him in the arm. He winced.

"Ow. Forgot you could punch hard." He chuckled again, and this time she joined in. It felt nice to laugh with Kakashi again, like old times. But in a few moments, the laughter ceased, and Kakashi went back to being serene. "You were starting to get on my very last nerves, you know that? I wanted so much to beat you senseless I couldn't stand to look at you."  
"But you kept trying to be my friend," she whispered, looking at the ground. "And I kept pushing you away, refusing to let you in."

"Yes, you did." But his tone was thoughtful, not angry or somber. "On your birthday, on the anniversary of Minato's death, and every day after that, really. And you don't know how many times I came close to strangling you." He wasn't joking—she could tell he was serious. "Though a small part of me still wanted you to…show some compassion towards me, even if it was the tiniest bit you could muster. And that night when you were drunk, I thought I had you again. But I didn't, and the next morning you gave me a purple bruise on my leg."

"Sorry about that," Raiden apologized, and Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly. "I shouldn't have been so mean instead of thanking you for helping me."

"Eh, I don't care. I knew you were grateful, however deep down that was."

Raiden giggled nervously and rubbed her arms against a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the brisk morning breeze. "I really am sorry, though, Hatake. I mean, Kakashi. Sorry, I'm trying not to do that."

Kakashi looked curious. "Why? I thought that was how you thought of me now. What's the reason for the sudden change in attitude?"  
"Well…" She tried her best not to look sheepish, and figured she succeeded. "I realized that you weren't trying to do me harm that day, but you were trying to help me, to keep me from hurting myself more. I just got so…frustrated with you, I refused to refer to you as anything other than Hatake, just an insignificant bug that wouldn't go away."

Kakashi looked down at her, his one gray eye searching her face. She felt her breath catch in her throat, and had to consciously think about inhaling and exhaling to stop herself from passing out. She loved it, though, when he looked at her like that.

"You're right," Kakashi said quietly, and she stared at him.

"What? I'm never right, you know that."

"No, you're right about this. I should have just left you alone after Minato died, and not pestered you every day with the same question. But I didn't, and you in turn learned to hate me for it."

Raiden was shocked. No, she didn't hate him. She never had hated him! She'd only convinced herself of that to make an excuse for the pain she felt. How could he think that? He had no reason to—to think that she hated his guts. He'd only wanted to help her, to comfort her when she needed it most despite all of her stubbornness and stupidity. And she had never realized how much she appreciated it until now.

"No, no, Kakashi," she said quietly, stopping and grabbing his arm. "I don't hate you. I never hated you, not at all! I just…I wanted someone to…I wanted someone that I could target, and since you were the one who took me away from my brother, I…I picked you."

But apparently, Kakashi wasn't listening.

Feeling another bout of anger surging up, Raiden took her hand off of Kakashi's arm and clenched her fists, fighting back the urge to scream at him. He was, of course, staring off into the sky, not paying attention to a single word coming out of her mouth, again. Did he always have to do this? Right when she wanted to tell him that she was sorry and she was stupid and that she hadn't meant anything she'd done to him in the past thirteen years?

Infuriated, she turned on her heel and started stalking back to the hospital, arms straight and stiff by her sides. How dare he! Ugh, he was the most irritating, oblivious, gorgeous man in the world! Wait…had she just thought of him as gorgeous? No, he wasn't gorgeous. That was an understatement. He was the handsomest man that Konoha had ever seen, probably. Well, other than her brother, but she would always think of Minato in a brighter light than anyone else.

She was back by the first bench when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her down to sit on the wood. She struggled, but the hand was firm and wouldn't let go, so she sat on the bench, arms crossed, chin upward and turned away from the gray-haired man sitting next to her.

"You really are a moody thing, aren't you?" Kakashi said, almost fondly, and Raiden sniffed, still not looking at him. She heard him tut-tut at her. "Really now, Raiden, you don't think I'd have let you go without finishing our talk, do you?"

"Look, Kakashi, I'm more than a little irritated with you. I definitely just tried to spill my guts and you ignored me. So don't lecture me."

To her surprise—and annoyance—Kakashi laughed. "Oh, I was listening, and it took me a minute to decide if you were telling the truth or not, too." His chuckling faded, and he looked at her with seriousness. She met his one-eyed gaze with her hard, icy blue eyes and stubbornly set frown. "Look, Raiden. I'm sorry that you were angry with me, and that I don't always seem like the kindest person out there, but I don't want us to be enemies. Okay, so we don't always agree on everything. Neither do Gai and I, but that's mostly on him."

"Kakashi," Raiden said, taking a deep breath. "I don't want to fight with you all the time any more than you want to fight with me. But I don't see how this will work when we've spent so many years avoiding each other—yeah, alright, me avoiding you, but still."

"I know."

"Then why do you want to try?"

She could tell he was smiling under his mask as he answered. "Tell me, Raiden, why did you leave before?"

Raiden winced and looked away from him. She'd been wondering when he'd ask her this. But now that he had brought it up, she couldn't keep the suppressed memories from spilling into her mind. While Kakashi waited for her answer, she spiraled into the recollections of that day, they day she'd left the village.

_Holding her olive green vest in one hand, and untying her headband with the other, Raiden walked into the Third Hokage's office, her expression grim. He looked up from his papers, his face as weathered as always, with a smile. But the moment her blue eyes met his darker ones, he frowned and motioned for her to sit. She complied, taking one of the comfy chairs in front of his desk. He surveyed her over the tips of his fingers with a worried gaze. _

_Raiden finally loosed the knot keeping her headband on her forehead and pulled it off, setting it on her lap with the vest. Sarutobi was still watching her, his old eyes never leaving her face. She forced her face to stay like stone, which wasn't very hard; she'd been in a monotonous state for the past six years. _

_"The reason for your visit is to hand in your vest and headband, correct?" Sarutobi asked suddenly, and Raiden nodded. The old man sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry to hear that, Raiden. I would've thought that it would cause you great pain to stop being a ninja. I know how much respect you have for your village."_

_Mildly startled, Raiden shook her head. "No, Sarutobi-sama. I'm not quitting." _

_"You're not?" Sarutobi exclaimed, frightened that he'd gotten something wrong. "Then…why are you handing in your ninja belongings? Is…Is there something wrong with them?"_

_"No, again, sir. I'm…leaving the village."_

_She was honestly surprised that the old man hadn't had a heart attack, although his hand did fly to his chest as he stood up, his expression furious. She'd been expecting him to lecture her, but for him to look as angry as he did…it was rather scary. _

_"You…You…" He didn't seem to be able to get the words out. His finger was pointing at her, shaking with the fury she could see in his eyes. "You're leaving the village."_

_"Yes."_

_Something close to a snarl came from the Third Hokage, and Raiden leaned back in her chair, startled. "I can't believe you! You, the younger sister of the Fourth Hokage, one of the most accomplished ninja the Leaf village has ever seen! Wanting to leave Konoha! It's disgraceful!"_

_"It's my decision, Sarutobi-sama," Raiden answered quietly, and the old man nodded, suddenly calm, and sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples._

_"You're right. It is your decision to make." He sighed heavily. "I had just hoped that you would've thought this through before you came to such a conclusion. I guess I should've seen this coming, though. You've lost a lot in the past few years—your brother, your dignity, your honor."_

_"My dignity? My honor? As far as I know I still have those," Raiden snapped back, becoming rather nettled. She had not lost her dignity or her honor. They were still there, as always._

_"No, Raiden, you lost those the moment you lost all respect for Hatake Kakashi, the moment you decided to become so solitary and not accept the help of your friends. And what little you may have had left, you just washed down the drain when you came into this office and told me you were leaving the village." _

_The bitter feeling of guilt made Raiden's stomach churn, and she stood up, throwing the vest and headband onto the desk. They both hit, the metal of the headband making a clattering noise on the wood. She pushed back her chair and headed for the door. _

_"If the village needs me, I'll come back," she said in a low, venomous voice. "But for now, it's nothing to me."_

_"Don't do this, Raiden. Your brother would not have wanted you to act this way after his death," Sarutobi begged, and Raiden, with her hand on the doorknob, turned her head to glare. _

_"Don't talk to me about my brother." _

Raiden shuddered at the memory. The last words she'd spoken to the Third…they'd been so hurtful, so mean, and so…savage. She regretted it, every day, every time she thought of the old man. But maybe, just maybe he'd known she would come back, and that she really hadn't meant to be as cold as she had.

Remembering that Kakashi was patiently waiting for her to answer his question, she blinked hard and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"I left," she began, "because I couldn't live with what I'd done. What I'd done to Naruto, to you, to my brother, and to myself. I've disgraced everyone, and when I heard that Sarutobi-sama had been killed, I came back to help out in any way I could. And now, I've been trying to make up for what I've done." She took a shaky breath. "Is that a good enough reason?"

To her surprise, Kakashi shook her head. "No, it's not."

"What?!"

"You didn't leave because of Naruto or your brother. You left because…well, you know damn well what."

And she did. She bowed her head and stared at the ground, thinking of the real reason she'd left. The day before her decision to depart from Konoha, Kakashi had finally confronted her about her attitude, and about what was going to become of them. He'd asked her why she was acting so stupid six years after her brother died, why she was refusing to move on, why she kept pushing him away when she knew how they felt about each other, why she refused to do anything that had to do with friends. And she'd responded with a "it's none of your business" type comments, and he'd threw his hands up in the air and told her she was hopeless, and she'd shouted how much she hated him and how much she hated the village, and that he was the reason she was going to leave.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment, wondering why she'd said those terrible things, no matter how true they were. Weren't little white lies supposed to make everything better? Why in hell couldn't she have lied then?

"Yes, you're right," she whispered, and banged her fist against the bench. "You were the reason I left. You wouldn't leave me alone! It was always 'Raiden, what's wrong?' 'Raiden, is there anything I can do to help?' 'Raiden, why won't you talk to me?' It got on my nerves!" Her voice had risen to a screech, and she was now glowering at the man next to her, who seemed to be taking all this in stride.

"I wanted to help you," he said quietly, and put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, but didn't move away from his touch. "You were so depressed and you wouldn't listen to anyone, so I had to do something. And annoying you seemed like the best course of action, since you'd just slam the door in anyone else's face." She could see the smile under his mask. "I always have been the only one who could really get you to pay attention."

"Uh-huh," she muttered, focusing on ignoring the warmth of his hand on her shoulder. "Sure you are."

"Well, the only one besides the Fourth."

She waited for the reaction that she knew was going to come, and as soon as she automatically jerked, Kakashi's arm was around her shoulders, and she was up against his side. For a moment, she was surprised, and a little insulted, but his arm was so comforting, and he was rubbing her shoulder as he talked to her in a quiet voice she didn't care to understand. He was there, he was holding her, and she couldn't feel more at home.



Once again, Raiden was in the waiting room of the hospital, but this time, she wasn't pacing and shooting irritable looks at the receptionist. This time, she was sitting as calmly as a worried aunt—whose nephew had no idea he was her nephew—could be while her brother's child was in the hospital and she couldn't see him.

Kakashi had convinced her upon their arrival back at the hospital that she wasn't to argue with the receptionist anymore, and just wait. Which was proving to be a terrible feat, for Raiden, at least. Kakashi, on the other hand, was sitting quietly by her side, flipping lazily through the pages of his weathered orange book. This more than anything was starting to get on Raiden's nerves; the flick of each page as it turned, coupled with the ticking of the clock was driving her up the wall!

She dug her nails into the plastic of the chair, fighting from twisting her face into a glare and shooting it at the batty receptionist, who was scribbling on some papers, looking utterly bored. Humph. Maybe she should provide the woman with a little excitement.

Getting up out of her chair, with Kakashi staring suspiciously in between her shoulder blades, Raiden strode over to the desk in the middle of the waiting room and placed her hands firmly on the surface in front of the receptionist. The batty woman with the mousy brown hair looked up, blinking from behind her wide glasses.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if Uzumaki Naruto is allowed to have visitors now," Raiden said calmly, smiling a little too nicely. She felt Kakashi's one-eyed gaze boring into her, but ignored it and leaned on the front of the desk.

"We've gone through this before," the receptionist began, pushing her glasses up her nose in a way that irked Raiden's last nerve. "Only family can see him at the moment, and that would be pushing it."

Raiden sucked in a breath between her teeth and fought to control the anger bubbling to the surface. This woman was beginning to cross the line. After all, did she not see the resemblance between Naruto and his aunt? Of course, she might not know that Raiden was his aunt, but dammit! She wanted to see her nephew!

"Look, lady," she snarled, her kind expression now seething. The receptionist recoiled. "If you don't let me in that room I swear, I'm going to snap your wrinkled little neck in half!"  
Looking rather flustered, but still holding true to the rules, the receptionist said, "I just told you, ma'am that you're not allowed in! Don't make me call security to come get you."

A sadistic grin crept across Raiden's well-defined features. "Oh-ho, I've met your security guards, and they're not match for me." She paused. "You said that only family members are allowed in?" The receptionist nodded, worried when Raiden's smirk widened. "Oh, good." She turned and strode back over to Kakashi, dug in his pocket without thinking, and pulled out his wallet. He stared at her the entire time, his one gray eye wide with something she couldn't figure out. Shock, excitement, worry, whatever.

She walked calmly to the desk again and flipped through the wallet until she landed on the picture she'd been aiming for. With a satisfied smirk, she slapped the wallet open to that particular picture onto the counter in front of the receptionist. "There. Is that proof enough?"

It was a photograph of Raiden, Minato, Kushina, and baby Naruto on the newborn's first day home. Raiden had been ecstatic with her new little nephew, and knew that her brother would've been the greatest father, and Kushina the greatest mother. There was a small ache in her chest, though, as she watched the woman at the desk stare at the picture in wonderment. Two days after this picture had been taken, Minato had walked out of his office to his death, and she'd abandoned the little child.

"I-I-I don't think this is enough proof," the receptionist stammered, and Raiden swiveled her livid gaze to her.

"What? What did you say?"

"I-I said it's not enough," the receptionist answered, a little more bravely. "You still can't go in."

Raiden let loose a howl of rage, and slammed her fist on the top of the desk. "You've gotta be kidding me! How can you not tell that I'm his aunt?! Are you completely incompetent or something!!! Dammit, you'd better let me in that room or I'm going to tear you in two. And go ahead, call the guards!" she added as she saw the woman's hand reach for the call button. "I'll beat the shit out of them, too! Let me in to see that boy!"

A calming hand landed on her shoulder, and she turned her glare to Kakashi, who was standing sheepishly next to her, trying to look sympathetic and apologetic for the receptionist, who was cowering in her chair.

"Sorry about her." He picked his wallet back up and tucked it into his pocket. "We'll be leaving now."  
"Oh, hell no!" Raiden wrenched away from him and snatched the receptionist's chart off of her desk, and the woman flinched. She scanned down the list, found Naruto's name, and repeated the room number to herself. Flinging the chart back onto the counter, she stomped off through the swinging doors, heading for her nephew's room. She was going to see Naruto even if she had to kill someone to do it. She owed it to him!

* * *

**Phew! Fighting with the receptionist is HARD WORK. I'm telling ya! Anyway, thanks for being with me so far, and I hope you all liked this chapter, cuz I liked writing it and all that good stuff. Maybe I'll be nice and update before the end of the week. Mebe, cuz I have a lot to do before Saturday (my party). We're having a MOON BOUNCE. How awesome is that?! **

**Review, luv ya!**

**Nicola**


	9. Admitting

**here u go!**

**Disclaimer: Yadda yadda yadda...you get it...**

* * *

Raiden counted down the numbers on the doors until she found Naruto's door, and opened it a crack to peer in quietly.

The blonde boy was sitting up in the white-sheeted hospital bed, a grim look on his bandaged face. Raiden followed his gaze and saw that Nara Shikamaru was perched on the edge of the bed, also frowning. She clenched her fists, thinking that that receptionist was going to have a nice big bruise on her wrinkled old face in the morning.

She knocked lightly on the door, and pushed it open further, stepping inside. Shikamaru greeted her with a slightly shocked look and a lift of his chin, and Naruto looked down at his hands, which were lying over his headband. She noticed that his headband was scratched across the Konoha symbol, and that his hands and arms were heavily bandaged.

"Naruto," she said, sounding as calm and collected as she could when she was looking at her nephew lying in a hospital bed, injured. "I'm glad you made it back alright. Your team is going to be fine," she added, hoping that might cheer him up.

But the blonde boy just nodded. "Yeah, I know. Shikamaru told me." His voice was low, solemn, disappointed. And she knew he wasn't disappointed in anyone else, but himself for failing to bring Sasuke back to the village. She knew how much that hurt to know you'd failed at something you'd promised to do.

"Well, aren't you happy?" Raiden wanted to know, and stood next to his bed. Shikamaru stayed on the edge of the bed, staring at his comrade. "You should be. It's a miracle you all got back alive."

The look Naruto gave her when he met her eyes was a heart wrenching one, one filled with anger and sadness and hopelessness. She felt a lump growing in her throat and swallowed hard, trying not to cry. What would Naruto think if she cried in front of him? He didn't even know she cared about him as much as she did, much less that she was his aunt.

"I am happy," Naruto whispered. "For them. But…I failed. I didn't bring Sasuke back, like I promised. I couldn't do it."

Raiden opened her mouth to tell him what an idiot he was for thinking that, but Shikamaru beat her to the punch.

"Look, Naruto," the Nara boy said, looking hard at his teammate. "The only thing that matters is that everyone got back alive, and that we're all going to be fine. No one cares that we didn't bring Sasuke back to the village. They only care that we're alright, and we are. So don't act like a jerk just because you couldn't complete a mission as difficult as the one we were assigned."

Naruto stared down at his hands for several long moments, and Raiden had to resist the urge to hug him—if she did, he'd be startled and suspicious, and it would hurt him. Besides, Shikamaru wasn't a Chunin for nothing. He was a genius, and would have no trouble putting the pieces together and figuring out that she was Naruto's aunt. She shuddered at the thought.

Then, Shikamaru stood up and walked out of the room, waving a lazy goodbye in Naruto's general direction. Raiden watched him go, rather happy he was leaving her and her nephew alone for a little while. It would be nice to have a few moments with Naruto without being interrupted by anyone. Silently, she hoped no one else would come in to visit him.

Turning back to look at the still upset boy lying on the bed, Raiden sighed and ran a hand over her ponytail. "Hey, Naruto?"

"Yeah." Naruto didn't look up from his hands and headband, just staring blankly at the white sheets, his blue eyes downcast and dull. Raiden, hesitating only the slightest, reached over to him and put her hand under his chin, lifting his gaze to hers. Naruto looked surprised that she'd actually done the kind of gesture a mother or a father would do, or maybe a kind sibling, but definitely not a sensei who was as aloof as she was.

"Naruto," she said softly, her voice kind but firm, "I don't want you to worry over this. No," she added as he began to protest, "don't tell me you don't have any other choice, because I know you do. You had the choice to stay or to go after Sasuke, and you tried your damnest to bring him home. Who cares if he didn't come back? It wasn't your fault—the only way you would've been able to is if you brought him down until he was an inch from death, and that would be difficult, even for me, only because he knows the Chidori." She looked down, and dropped her hand from his chin. "If Sasuke really wants to come back, he will. Trust me on this one."

"Why?" Naruto queried, still serene, and when Raiden dared to glance up, she saw that his blue eyes were suspicious. Maybe this kid wasn't as dumb as he seemed to be. "Why should I trust you? Is it because you've left the village before?"

Duh.

Of course Kakashi would've told his team about Raiden the moment she wasn't around. The jerk. But he was just so sweet…

"Yes, it's because I've left the village before," Raiden answered, her kind, warm tone gone and replaced by a harder one. "Seven years ago, to be exact. And don't ask why, because you'll learn that whenever I feel you're ready to know, okay?"

Naruto nodded, and ran his fingers over his scratched headband. "You know, Namikaze-sensei, I kind of know how Sasuke feels, wanting revenge on his family." Too startled to answer, Raiden just waited for him to go on. He looked back up at her, his blue eyes aflame and angry. "This—this village…and this demon inside of me…took my family away from me. I know my parents died not long after I was born, and that it was during the Kyuubi attack that they were killed, and the Kyuubi was sealed inside me." His face twisted into a leering snarl, and his fists tightened around his headband. "Sometimes I just hate Konoha, hate it for making me lose my parents, hate everyone in it because they abandoned me, and more than anything else," he took a deep breath, his eyes seething, "I hate the Fourth Hokage."

Feeling a sort of anger she hadn't in a long, long time bubbling to the surface, Raiden grabbed onto Naruto's wrists and wrenched them from his headband, holding them tightly and shaking him. "Don't you ever—_ever_—talk about the Fourth Hokage like that! He saved this damn village and he gave you the strength to keep his legacy going forward! So don't you go on about how much you hate him. You can hate this village, and hate all the people who turned their noses up at you, but if you talk bad about Minato one more time I swear to Kami that I will beat you black and blue! Do you hear me?!"

Raiden was breathing heavy from her rant, and, realizing she still clutched Naruto's wrists in her tense hands, she stepped back, releasing him from her death grip. The boy was staring at her in shock, his hands where she'd left them, hanging limply in the air. His lips were moving, but no sound was coming out as he mouthed a word over and over to himself. As Raiden watched him, still seething, she realized just what word he was trying to make out. Her eyes widened with shock and her anger was replaced by fear, by worry. Oh, Kami, had she really said…had she really told Naruto that the Fourth's name was Minato, that her brother's name was Minato? Of course, he wouldn't know the Fourth had been her brother, but she'd let him know his name! Oh, Kami, no!

"Naruto, I—I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" She trailed off, watching as Naruto slowly lifted his gaze to her and studied her face. There was something glittering in his eyes, some sort of excitement now that he'd discovered the name of a person he both hated and admired.

"His name was Minato," he whispered. "Minato." He murmured the name under his breath several times, and with each uttered sound, Raiden felt a sharp jab to her chest. Naruto was saying his father's name, oblivious to the fact that it _was_ his father. At least he knew what the Fourth's name had been, before he'd sacrificed himself for the village.

"Naruto," she begged, coming closer and stooping down to eye level, "you can't tell anyone what his name was. Please. I'll get in serious trouble if anyone finds out you know, and that I told you. Don't say a word. Please, promise me, Naruto. Please." Her voice was unrecognizable—it had never had such a pleading sound to it. Apparently, Naruto hadn't expected her to get down on her knees and beg, because for a moment he was completely silent, his blue eyes searching her face.

Finally, he smiled a little and said, "Yeah, no problem, Namikaze-sensei. I won't say anything to anyone. It's between me and you, right?"

Relieved, Raiden smiled back. "Yes, just between you and me."



After her little slip-up, Raiden promised Naruto that the moment she heard he was out of the hospital, she'd take him somewhere special to celebrate. The boy had eagerly agreed, and promised he would get better as soon as possible to hold her to it. She was currently walking back through the lobby, searching for the gray-haired man she knew would be waiting for her. Once she spotted him, she made a beeline for him.

He stood up, pocketing his orange book, and stretched. "You sure gave the poor receptionist a fright," he said casually as they walked past her desk. Raiden shot the woman a nasty look. "Pathetic thing ran to the bathroom the moment you left and didn't come back out for fifteen minutes."

"Good," Raided spat irritably. Kakashi gave her a look.

"So how was Naruto? I assume he's doing perfectly well, as always?" Kakashi wanted to know, and Raiden shrugged aloofly.

"Eh, same as always. But he's pretty bummed about not bringing Sasuke back," she answered, shoving a hand into her pocket without realizing she was doing it. Kakashi watched this gesture with a wary eye, but didn't say anything. "Shikamaru got on his case pretty good about not worrying about it, and I told him something along those lines, too." She shot a quick glance at the man next to her, then went back to staring at her feet. "Did you know that Naruto really hates this village sometimes?"

The look Kakashi gave her made her cringe, but she held it, and he sighed. For a minute, he didn't answer, just kept looking at her and studying her face, until finally he ran a hand over his gray hair and shook his head. "He never said outright what he felt towards Konoha, only that he was loyal to it and wanted to prove himself to its citizens. But now that you mention it, I would sometimes catch him glaring at the mountain, specifically at the Fourth's stone head." He shrugged. "That was before you started training him, though. Now I only see him looking at the Fourth with a glazed look on his face, like he's really thinking about what the Fourth did for him."

"Yeah," Raiden murmured, kicking at the dirt as she walked. She remembered doing that, right after Minato's death. Standing in front of the carved rock, looking at each of the Hokage's faces in turn before settling on her brother's face. His cold, blank eyes that surveyed the village, the tiny determined frown set on his face and he pondered silent thoughts she'd never know, the spiky hair she knew she'd never playfully tug on to get his attention or rumple when they play-wrestled on the floor in his room again. She'd stay there for hours upon hours, just memorizing every feature in his stone face that she already knew by heart, running her eyes over every line, every knick, ever piece of him that she could, wanting to be close to him this way, to somehow be able to return his smile or link arms with him and skip towards the ramen shop, dragging him along because of his reluctance to move in such a girly manner.

A tiny, sad smile tugged on her lips as she remembered challenging him to ramen eating contests, and whoever lost would have to pay the bill, and how every time she'd lost—which had been most times—the old man at the ramen shop would tell her it was on the house and she would've have to pay, and the way Minato would pretend to be mad that their bet was broken, and how he'd "forgiven" her on the way back home, and promised her an ice cream cone he'd never forgotten once. Remembered their taijustu sparring matches on the roof of the Hokage temple, and on the grounds surrounding the temple, and the way he'd laughed and attacked her with his "Tickle-Monster Jutsu," and how she'd tried to fight him off but all her efforts never worked, and how he'd always pull her into a hug and sling her over his shoulder to run her back into the temple and dump her on her bed.

And she would laugh and kick at him and he'd move away, and she'd chuck a pillow at him, and he'd catch it and they'd start pillow fighting and of course he'd win. Or she would run out of the room and into his, and steal something of his, like an old ring or once of his awards, and he'd chase after her, threatening to "ground" her, which really involved staying in her room and eating ice cream. And after he'd catch her he'd "ground" her and they'd stay up all night watching movies and munching on sundae's and laughing together.

She felt someone touch her arm and blinked hard to get out of her reverie. It was Kakashi's hand on her elbow, and when she looked at his face, she saw that his one eye was rather concerned.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, but unsurely, as if he were afraid that that was the wrong thing to say, considering her past reactions to the question. She smiled lightly at him.

"I'm fine. Just…remembering, you know?"  
"Yeah," he agreed. "I know."

They started walking again, and Raiden rubbed her arms, trying not to think about the past anymore, even though it made her smile and feel happy again. But the longer she thought of the happier times, the closer she got to remembering that terrible day when Minato's life had been sacrificed for the sake of the village. And that was something she didn't want to have to relive, no matter what the cost was.

Automatically, her hand traced the scars on her arm, feeling the slightly raised and lightened skin marking where she'd cut herself after leaving the village. She shuddered at the recollection of the pain and grabbed hard onto her wrist, trying to focus on something else, like Kakashi watching her worriedly as they walked, or how beautiful a day it was, the bright sky, the few clouds dotting the blue overhead, the slight breeze fluttering the leaves on the trees.

It wasn't long before they reached the two reached the Hokage temple, and Raiden stopped in front of the gates. "Umm, you don't have to come in, if you don't want."

Kakashi replied by stepping through the open gates and saying, "I know."

Upstairs they walked, not speaking a word to each other, and Raiden stopped in front of her bedroom door, fumbling with the handle. Kakashi reached out and turned the knob for her, and she could see the smile playing underneath his mask. "You were turning it the wrong way."

"Oh. Thanks." _Idiot, can't you say anything other than "oh"?!_

They walked inside, and Raiden flipped the lights on, opened the curtains, and sat down on the edge of her bed. Kakashi strode over and leaned against the desk, arms crossed, as usual. But for once, he didn't whip out that stupid orange book, and for that she was grateful—if he took that damn thing out around her one more time she swore she'd shred it to pieces.

Wringing her hands together nervously, Raiden fought to keep her eyes off of Kakashi, who she knew was watching her intently. If she looked at him, that meant she would have to talk to him, and that meant they'd probably touch upon a few subjects she wasn't quite ready to discuss just yet. Maybe if she just completely avoided his gaze, and ignored those quiet, meaningful little looks he was giving her, he'd go away and she wouldn't have to deal with him. Yeah, that could work.

But after a few moments, it seemed like her little plan was failing miserably, because Kakashi left his place against the desk and went to the bed, sitting lightly on her right side. She stills stared down at her hands, trying to ignore him, trying to will him to go on home and let her figure things out. By herself. But he stayed there, quietly watching her watch her hands entwine themselves and wring together, until he finally stopped her nervous movements by placing his own hand on hers. Though it was gloved, with only the fingers unclothed, it was warm.

She flinched automatically, not used to being touched in such a comforting manner. He didn't move his hand, kept it on her nervously twitching ones. Still refusing to look up, she traced the outline of his fingers with her eyes.

"I'm not going to bite, you know," Kakashi said quietly, a soft hint of humor in his voice. "I'd never hurt you."  
"Yeah, I know," she said just as quietly, relenting and finally looking up into his gray eye—and Sharingan one. Without thinking she reached up to touch the scarred skin around his red and black eye, but withdrew before she could. No, she didn't trust him quite so much yet, and she was sure he didn't trust her either. Instead, she settled with asking, "Why do you have your headband up?"

"Because," he said simply, running a hand over his eye. "I don't know what kind of booby traps you might have in this place, so I've got to keep an eye out for them."

"Oh. My…Kakashi, you jerk!"

A pillow connected heavily with the side of Kakashi's face, and, not expecting it, he fell onto his side on the bed. Raiden continued to pound him head to toe with the pillow—mostly his face, that hurt the worst, she knew—until he grabbed the pillow and wrenched it from her grasp. He chucked it across the room and sat back up, shaking his head and rubbing the red spot where she'd first hit him.

"Ow, Raiden," he grumbled good-naturedly. "That wasn't very nice."

"Well," she defended, crossing her arms, "your Sharingan should've picked that up, you know. It _was_ one of my booby traps."

He shook his head inanely and stood up from the bed, heading towards the white wood bedside table. Raiden watched him as he stopped in front of the photo perched on the table, his hands in his pockets. She fidgeted on the bed for a moment, then stood up, too, and walked over to stand next to Kakashi.

"You still have this picture," he murmured, reaching out and touching the frame. She nodded, becoming absorbed in the photo of herself and her brother, so absorbed, in fact, that she didn't notice Kakashi brush his hand against her arm. "I thought you would've gotten rid of it by now, to try and forget."

"No," she said, shaking her head, "I never want to forget. It's what drives me forward, knowing what he did for this village, and what I didn't do to repay him, living with his shadow always looming over me, a reminder, but also a sort of encouragement, telling me that if I can make up for what I did then now, then it'll all be okay."

"You don't have to do anything to get Minato-sama's forgiveness," Kakashi said, pulling her away from the picture and back to the edge of the bet, where they both sat down. He hesitantly put his arm around her and held her to him, and she leaned into his side. "You know that your brother would forgive you no matter what mess you managed to get yourself into. Like when you were caught sneaking out of the academy to go get ramen when you knew you weren't supposed to, or when you chopped half of Minato-sama's hair off during shuriken practice." He chuckled, and Raiden felt his chest rumble under her shoulder. "That was pretty funny, though."

"Alright, alright," she relented. "I get it. I shouldn't be guilty." _But that doesn't mean I'm not._



Two days later, Raiden was walking out of the hospital again. This time, instead of being accompanied by her gray-haired acquaintance (yes, he was still nothing more than a kind person to her), the blonde, exuberant, and completely healed Naruto bounded at her side, a silly grin pasted on his face. He was excited that he was out of the hospital, and that his Namikaze-sensei was taking him to her room, although he couldn't possibly know the importance in this—he was most likely just happy that she was being nice to him, for once.

Every now and again, as they strode gaily towards the Hokage temple, Raiden would sneak a glance at her brother's son. The blonde boy looked so much like his father, it was creepy. But the way he held himself, the way he grinned so idiotically, and the way he flounced about ever-so-excited, pushed him in an entirely different direction than Minato. In looks, the kid resembled his father. But in attitude, he was definitely more like Kushina, his mother.

Raiden's thoughts were only interrupted every few minutes by another bout of senseless babble from Naruto. When he started up again, she'd nod and smile inanely, pretending that she was listening when she was really wondering what would've happened if Minato was still alive, if he had raised Naruto with Kushina instead of the poor boy having grown up as an orphan. If Minato had taught Naruto all he knew, would the kid still be as thoughtless and arrogant and loud-mouthed? Yes, she figured, smiling. Yes he would.

"Up here," she said, and Naruto followed her up the stairs in the Hokage temple. She mused on how the guards hadn't even glanced at her when they'd passed through the gates, and made a mental note to make amends with the two men.

They stopped in front of Raiden's door and she turned the knob—the right way this time—and opened it. Her red and white bedroom came into view, and she walked in, Naruto trailing along behind her, his mouth open as he took in the room. Everything—from the red walls, red and white swirled carpet, and white furniture, to the picture on the white bedside table—was completely familiar to her, but to Naruto it was all different, all new, and all something else to get into.

She walked over to her bed and sat down, motioning for Naruto to take a seat beside her. Instead of listening to her, though, he walked straight over to the bedside table and picked up the photograph there. She stiffened, watching him pour over the picture, and waited for him to say something. Finally, after several tense minutes, Naruto turned around and, still holding the picture, walked over to the bed.

"Is this the…the Fourth Hokage?" he asked in a whisper, and Raiden nodded, patting the seat beside her. He sat down, continuing to stare at the picture. Raiden gently took it from his hands and held it in her lap, her blue eyes that so matched Naruto's scanning quickly over it.

"Yes," she said, running her thumb over the tiny figure of Minato beneath the glass, "this is the Fourth Hokage. He was…he was my best friend, best in the whole world. He was my brother."

Vigorously, Naruto shook his head. "How could you have known the Fourth? I mean, you left the village, right? You couldn't have known him if you'd do something like that!"

Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, Raiden nodded, "Yeah, Naruto, I did know him. I wasn't lying when I said he was my brother. He was, by blood. My older brother, older by many, many years, fifteen years, to be exact. I loved him to death, you know." She opened her eyes and gazed hard at Naruto. "And don't think that just because I left Konoha that I'm not a good person."

"No, no I didn't say that!"

"You may not have meant it in quite a way, but yes, you did say that." She sighed and tapped her legs with the photo. "I didn't leave until after Minato died," she whispered, unable to tear her eyes away from the Genin in front of her. "He was everything I had left, and after he died, after he sealed the Kyuubi inside of you, I couldn't take it. So, six years after his death, I decided to take my leave from Konoha. And six years after that, I came back." She tried to smile, but couldn't, for fear that it would make the tears brimming behind her eyes spill over.

"Oh." Naruto stayed silent for a moment, then reached over and touched Raiden's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" She was surprised—why should Naruto be sorry? And then it hit her, when she saw the look in his eyes. He thought it was his fault, his fault that her brother had died, that she'd left the village. His fault that she was mistrustful and mournful and that she was a bitter woman. "Oh, no, no, Naruto. It's not your fault! Why would it be your fault? Please, don't think that way!"

"I can't help but think like that," Naruto said. "It's the truth, isn't it? I mean, if it hadn't been for me, your brother couldn't have sealed the demon inside of me, and he wouldn't have sacrificed his life, right?"  
"No, it's not like that! Don't you realize that Minato would've sacrificed himself by using another child, another baby? Just because he might not have had you to place the demon in doesn't mean he wouldn't go and try it on another kid!" She was on her feet now; she didn't know when she'd stood up. "It's not your fault!"

Naruto put his hands in front of him, as if protecting himself from her words. "Okay, okay, Namikaze-sensei! Don't get all mad!"

His face looked so much like Kushina's that Raiden's anger faded into nothing and she found herself laughing behind closed lips. She opened her mouth, and loud giggles burst out; she fell back onto the bed, holding her sides as she laughed. The kid had looked so offended, and irritated, and just like his mother! She couldn't stop laughing; the image wouldn't leave her head!  
Naruto looked at her like she was crazy, then chuckled a little bit himself and looked sort of sheepish. "Sorry."

"Don't say that," Raiden giggled, starting to get more control. She took a deep breath and sat up, swallowing hard. "Alright." She got to her feet again, went over to her bedside table, and pulled open one of its drawers. What she took out was a small brown package with the name "Naruto" written across it in black marker. Hesitantly, she took it back over to Naruto and held it out to him. When he took it, she warned, "Don't open it until you leave the village."



The next morning, Raiden was standing at the gates of Konoha, waving goodbye to her nephew who had yet to figure out that she was his aunt. He was accompanied by Jiraiya, and just before their departure Raiden had warned the Sannin of her gift to Naruto and what the boy would soon be finding out. Jiraiya had told her it was the right thing to do, and that Naruto would train twenty times harder when he found out his heritage.

Naruto's retreating orange-clad figure became smaller and smaller as Raiden watched him, until suddenly he stopped. She saw him turn his head and stare at her. She waved; he waved back, slowly, as if he were amazed at something. Laughing, Raiden continued to wave until the two figures had disappeared into nothing.

Turning on her heel, she began to stride back towards the main part of the village, thinking about getting some ramen. What Naruto had been amazed at, she knew, was what was in the package. Inside, there was a picture that she'd stolen from Kakashi's wallet a few days ago, a small friendship bracelet she'd bought on her first day back in Konoha, and a letter. She knew what the letter said by heart.

_Dear Naruto,_

_These past few months teaching you have been both infuriating and invigorating. You've taught me a lot, although I was supposed to be the teacher. But don't worry—you still got some pretty damn good skills from me. It was great having the opportunity to spend some time with you and get to know you better. I wish I'd had the courage to do that almost thirteen years ago._

_I know you've always wondered where you came from, who your parents were, and why you didn't have any family to take you in. I figured I'd better start this out by telling you who your parents were, and how much they loved you._

_Your mother was Uzumaki Kushina, originally from the Whirlpool country. She was a red-headed, fiery pistol of a woman. I don't know much about her childhood—seeing as I was very, very young when she was a Genin and Chunin—other than what I've heard. But I know she was a tomboy, a loud-mouth (like you, no offense), and straightforward. When she got older, she was beautiful, strong, intelligent, and a master at Ninjutsu. Coupled with her personality, I can tell you that she was a sight to behold. _

_Which is probably why your father was so attracted to her._

_Naruto, your father was Namikaze Minato, the Fourth Hokage._

_Yes, this is shocking, and yes, you're going to be pretty angry in a moment when you realize what this means. But don't think of that for a minute, okay? Just let me tell you a little bit about your father. _

_He was a wonderful person, Minato. He was so determined, so strong, so loyal to his village…he was trained by Jiraiya, the same man who's taken you under his wing. Minato loved every bit of Konoha, and loved you and Kushina with all his heart. My brother thought the world of you the moment he found out Kushina was pregnant with you. Don't think of him as a mean, heartless person for sacrificing himself. I hope that when you get older, you'll become just like him—minus the sacrificing yourself thing, though. _

_After your father died, Kushina left. She left the village, and we can only guess as to why. Maybe it was because the village wouldn't approve of her relationship with Minato, or because she couldn't bear to look at her child when she knew it had a demon in it. I can sympathize with her, which brings me to my next confession. _

_You should've figured out by now—and if you haven't, I'm rather disappointed—that I'm your aunt. And you're most likely wondering why the hell I didn't take you in and save you the suffering your early childhood dished out to you. It's because I couldn't bear to look at you. Every time I looked at that little blonde baby, I thought of my brother, and how it was this innocent child's fault he was dead, taken away from me. So I gave you to the orphanage, and you grew up under a terrible cloud, where people jeered at you and despised you. And I watched, and got some sadistic pleasure from it._

_I'm sorry, Naruto. There was no excuse for me doing that to you, and hating you just because you were Minato's son. And I realize now that the only way to make up for that mistake is by telling you the truth, which I've done. Don't hold it against me, please. I see now that I love you, and that I will from now on treat you like the nephew you are. _

_Thank you for the time you've spent with me, Naruto, and remember—you are just like your father._

_Love,_

_Aunt Raiden_

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**Okie doke, that was the ninth chapter. Dont' think it's the last chapter, cuz it isn't. Anyway, Raiden had to tell Naruto the truth to get closer to Kakashi, at least in my book. Review, I luv ya!  
Luv ya**

**Nicola**


	10. Genma and Missions

**Okay, I'm SOOO glad I got this chapter done. I'm starting to realize the difficulty of writing two stories at a time, so forgive me if I switch into first person every now and a gain. It's only from sheer confusion, I'm not going insane. I like the jealousy in this chapter, and the symbolism revolving around the ANBU masks.**

**DIsclaimer: you get it already**

**Luv ya**

**Nicola**

* * *

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Three weeks ago, Naruto had left with Jiraiya for training, and three weeks ago, Raiden had finally revealed to the young boy his heritage, and her ties to him. She still didn't know how he would react after having learned this information, but if he hadn't immediately run back to the village to beat her to a pulp (or at least try to), then he either wanted to think about it, or was fine with the fact that she was his aunt that had once left him because she couldn't bear to look at him.

Since then, everything in Konoha had been running pretty smoothly. The more important missions that were coming in were longer, but paid more, and didn't come as often, leaving several immature ninja to the missions that better suited them. No one had rebelled, and there'd been no threats from any outside forces, and, better yet, no sign of Sasuke, which meant no trials of the betrayer who regretted his decision, saving everyone a load of trouble and time. And probably the best was that Raiden and Kakashi had not argued a single time during the past three weeks, and had spent more and more time together.

At the moment, Raiden was on her way to the bar to hang out with the other Jounin—and one advanced Chunin—with Kakashi as her escort. They were still just friends, but at even the slightest thought of the man, Raiden felt her stomach flutter nervously. Yes, he was gorgeous. Yes, he was kind (in his own way), and yes, he always knew the right thing to say. But despite all that, Raiden couldn't bring herself to admit just how wonderful a person Kakashi was. There was still some small part of her that wanted to deny him, and she didn't know why.

Though for right now, she was content to ignore that little bit of information and walk alongside Kakashi. The bar was in sight, and she nervously tugged down on her black shirt, wondering what the other Jounin would be like. This would be the first time she went out with them after her little drunken incident several months back, and she was worried. She hoped they didn't think of her any differently than they had before—no, wait a second, she did. She wanted them to think of her as a kind, not-so-cruel person like the front she'd put on before.

"You alright?" Kakashi asked, and Raiden nodded, licking her lips as he held the door open for her.

Asuma, Kurenai, Genma, and Iruka were already there, sitting at their usual table, bottles of sake in their hands. When Raiden sat down, Kakashi right next to her, they smiled kindly and Genma offered her a drink. Gladly she took it, and sipped lightly at it, not wanting to drink too much too soon, like last time.

"So, how've you been, Raiden?" Kurenai asked, and Raiden smiled.

"Pretty good, actually. What about you all?"

Her question was answered with "good's" and "alright's" and other things along those lines. Only Kakashi said, "Wonderful."

Raiden didn't hear most of what the other Jounin were talking about—she was concentrating on not drinking too much, and fighting the urge to look at the man next to her, whom she did not think of as anything more than a friend. She swirled her sake around in her bottle, listening to the sloshing sounds it made, and took another sip. It was so good, despite its bitter, burning taste.

After a few minutes of mindless chatter, she heard her own name being called. "Yeah?" she answered, a little dazedly, and she felt Kakashi take her sake away from her, just in case. She didn't reprimand him, though, and looked for the person who had spoken to her.

It was Genma. "I was wondering," he said, setting his sake bottle on the table, "if you would like to go to the upcoming Konoha Festival with me." Instead of sounding nervous and boyish like she'd expect him to, his voice was confident and boisterous, as if he knew she would just have to say yes to a man of his quality.

She thought about his question for a minute: If she did go with Genma to the festival, what would Kakashi think? Would he be upset or angry or jealous? Nah that just wasn't Kakashi's style. He'd probably encourage it, actually. So, she pasted a happy little smirk on her face and said, "Sure, Genma."

Beside her, she thought she felt Kakashi stiffen slightly, but ignored it and wrote it off as just her imagination getting the best of her. Genma looked positively exuberant that she'd said yes to his offer, and scooted into the empty chair next to her. She chuckled as he slung his arm around the bag of her chair and inched closer to her.

"You'd better keep your distance, Genma," Kakashi warned, surprising everyone with his sudden interruption. "She really can pack a punch, you know."

"Oh, I don't think she'll be hitting me anytime soon, Kakashi," Genma said, in just as normal a tone, but Raiden detected a hint of irritation in his voice and glanced up at him, her blue eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Don't get so cocky, Genma," she murmured, so that only Genma and Kakashi could hear her over the dull noise of the bar. "You never know what I might getcha with. Maybe a well placed knee."

"Oh-ho!" Genma exclaimed, pulling Raiden even closer to him, so that she was pressed up against his side. She didn't move away, and forced herself to relax, although she didn't feel quite as comfortable there as she did when she was with Kakashi. "The little lady is making threats!"

"You're damn right I am!"

Genma laughed, and the others joined in with him, including Raiden. But she didn't miss the toneless sound of Kakashi's laugh, and had to work to keep from looking at him. She motioned for him to give her back her sake, and he complied, rather reluctantly. Taking a big swig, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and nuzzled into the crook of Genma's arm. His arm tightened around her and she felt him kiss the top of her head, and she didn't care. It was sort of nice having someone hold her like this and not feel all awkward or nervous or guilty about anything.

vvv

Raiden was walking down the path towards the temple again, accompanied by a man again, but this time it was a different one. Headband tied backwards on his head, his usual senbon between his teeth, Genma walked at her right, his hand in his pocket. What was with men and putting their hands in their pockets, Raiden couldn't understand, but she did know that it was sort of pleasant walking around with Genma.

They'd left the bar a few minutes ago after three hours of chortling, telling stories, and drinking sake. Of course, Raiden had only had one bottle, because she still couldn't hold that much alcohol in one sitting, and thankfully Genma had followed her example. They were only a quarter of the way to the temple, and Raiden was glad that the walk was taking so long. She was rather enjoying herself.

Being asked to the festival by Genma had highlighted her night, because honestly, she hadn't been expecting Kakashi or anyone else to. The festival was the sort of event that you took a guest to, or rather, a date. And she'd never thought in a million years anyone would ask her to the festival on a date, an actual date. She'd never been on one in her life, really. Even when she and Kakashi had been getting closer they hadn't gone out on an official date at all, only on long walks, to her room, to his house, or to visit the black memorial stone.

So now she was going with Genma.

Wow.

Her heart skipped a beat at the idea, but not from excitement, really. More from nervousness. Since it would be her first date, she didn't know how to act. What would they do? Would they hold hands, and kiss? Would she stay with him the entire time as if she were glued to his side? Or…would he ditch her or something? Oh, Kami, she was going to mess this up, she just knew it.

Suddenly, she felt someone's hand grab hers, and she looked down to see that Genma had taken his hand out of his pocket (finally) to hold hers. Her cheeks reddened and her face became warm, but she allowed him to hold her hand as they walked. He really was rather sweet, in his own quiet, cocky way. Much nicer than Kakashi was, she told herself firmly, so that guilt wouldn't settle in her stomach like it'd been trying to.

"You know," Genma said, and Raiden glanced up at him, "I've never been anywhere in the temple other than the Hokage's office."

"Really?" Of course, she hadn't thought he'd been allowed anywhere but the Hokage's office, because only the "important" people could roam around. Raiden was one of those important people only since her brother had been such a successful ninja and become Hokage. But she'd earned the right to be there from the many A-ranked missions she'd gone on during her days in the ANBU. "Maybe I'll show you around sometime, but not tonight, it's too late."

"Oh, I never expected you to," Genma said a little hurriedly, as if he worried he might have implied something. "Trust me, I'll work my way up to that by myself. I don't need your help." His tone was teasing, and Raiden chuckled.

"Sure you will."

The temple was in view now, and Raiden felt her lip poke out a little bit in a tiny pout. She really was quite content to walk alongside Genma for the rest of the night. He was quiet most of the time—like Kakashi, although she would never admit that was why she enjoyed his company—but he also liked to strike up good conversations.

She stopped him at the gate and turned so she was facing him. She hadn't noticed that he'd spat out his senbon a little while back, and saw that a small smile was playing on his lips. She felt herself flush again, and looked at the ground. Damn, why did that smile have to look so cute?

If she hadn't been so acute to Genma at the moment, she would've missed the gentle brush of his lips against her left cheek. Her hand flew up to touch the spot where he'd kissed her, and her blush deepened, she could feel it. She shyly looked up at him, and saw that he, too, was flushing lightly. Becoming more courageous by the second, she stood on tip-toe (for he was taller than she was) and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks for walking me home, Genma," she said quietly, and took her hand out of his to walk through the gates, her heart fluttering and heavy at the same time.

vvv

The next morning, Raiden woke up without the slightest sign of a headache, raring and ready to go do something. But what, she had no idea.

Thankfully, though, she was saved the task of trying to figure something to do by a Chunin delivering a scroll. A mission scroll, she was pleased the see. Getting a mission probably meant that Tsunade was beginning to trust her a lot more than she had before. Raiden eagerly took the scroll, shut the door in the Chunin's face, and flopped down onto the bed to read it.

_Raiden, _

_I have an important mission for you to go on. I cannot reveal any information about it in a scroll, for fear it would fall into the wrong hands, however unlikely that may be. Be in my office at noon, no later, no earlier, and you will meet your teammates there. But please, to save me having to warn you later, this mission _is _an assassination mission. You'll all have to be very careful. _

_Signed, _

_Tsunade _

_P.S.—I don't want to have to tell you to NOT do anything stupid, got it? Oh, and please wear your ANBU gear, I know you still have it. It's going to be necessary in this case. _

Raiden rolled her eyes as she rolled the paper back up and tied it. She set it on her dresser and went to get changed, having already taken her shower before the mission had arrived. She plucked out a tight black tank top, white vest, her old ANBU mask painted to resemble a fox, ironically enough, and her black pants, the outfit she'd always worn during her ANBU days. They brought back a lot of memories, both good and bad, and she let them flood her mind. Her first assassination mission, her first mission that she'd completed all by herself, the arguments she and Kakashi had gotten in along the way…they'd been good times, and maybe now she'd be able to relive them a little bit.

She changed quickly into her black clothes and slung the old, hardly used sword in its sheath over her head and around her chest until it rested on her back. It had belonged to her brother before he'd passed it down to her when she'd become a Jounin, saying she'd need it if she wanted to be in the ANBU. Although the time hadn't yet come when she would really have to use it, she brought it with her on all her missions. She attached all the pouches carrying weaponry and seals on the back and sides of her waist, and hooked her mask on the front left. Her fingers absently ran over the black ANBU tattoo on her left upper arm and she sighed.

Glancing in the mirror, she was able to see the tattoo more clearly. It was made up of two swirls, one that looped into a tight circle in the middle, the other that curved to the side of the circle and down. She stared at the small part of her skin obscured by black ink, thinking of all the times it had been shown to enemies as one of the last things they'd seen. So much bloodshed back then, so many lives forcibly taken from the world. But it had all been done on official orders from Konoha. She followed what she was instructed to do.

With a sigh, she left her room and walked down the hallway to Tsunade's room, realizing she was going to be a little bit early. It was only eleven-forty-five, so she could have ten minutes to get the gist of the mission before everyone else got there. She knocked on the huge mahogany wood doors, waiting until she heard Tsunade's call before she entered.

Tsunade was sitting at her big desk, surrounded by papers and books and scrolls and broken pens and whatnot. Raiden walked over and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk, waiting for Tsunade to finish skimming over one document in particular. The Hokage pushed the document to the side and smiled at Raiden, who smirked back, feeling some sort of adrenaline rush at the idea of an assassination mission, finally.

"You're early," Tsunade commented.

Raiden shrugged. "I live down the hall. It's not that far of a walk."

"True."

They were silent for several minutes while Tsunade shifted through and attempted to sort out the piles of papers scattered all over her desk. Raiden could sympathize. Many an hour she'd spent trying to organize her brothers disorganized office, and most of the time, after several days work, it had been all nice and neat. And then Minato would come back in and mess it all up. Eventually she'd given up on ever making him an organized, neat and tidy person, because it just wasn't destined to happen. No, it definitely was not Minato.

Raiden touched her hand to the mask on her side and glanced down at it, her eyes tracing over the white surface with the red lines. The delicately painted face on the mask was made to look like fox, made after the Kyuubi attack. But the fact that her brother had saved the village from the giant demon fox had nothing to do with the style of her mask. Before, she'd been known as the Yellow Fox, probably because of her speed, beauty, and ruthless, stealthy nature. It had also stemmed off of her brother's nickname, the Yellow Flash. But the original mask had been destroyed in the Kyuubi attack during one of the attempts the village made to defend themselves. She'd been on the front lines then, alongside her fellow ANBU, trying to save Konoha from the monster. After the attack, a new mask had been crafted for her, and its strangely durable and light porcelain make suited her perfectly.

A knock sounded on the door, and Raiden turned her head slightly to the side to see two people enter the room—Kakashi, and another ANBU member whom Raiden didn't recognize. She got to her feet and went to stand in between the two men that would be accompanying her on this mission. Tsunade surveyed them over her steepled fingers and sighed.

"Kakashi, Raiden—I believe you haven't met Hyuga Kouki. He is an excelled member of the ANBU squads, and I know he'll be an asset on this mission." Kouki nodded a greeting to both Raiden and Kakashi and turned his attention back to the Hokage.

Kouki, Raiden noticed, looked basically like the typical Hyuga, but something about him was different. He had the long dark hair that he kept loose and untied, the pale eyes that were unusually kind (considering how Hyuga Neji and his uncle were), and was tall, strong, and fit. There wasn't too much abnormality about him, but she couldn't help wondering what was up with him.

She didn't notice until Tsunade instructed them to put their masks on.

She reached up and untied her headband and laid it on Tsunade's desk, next to Kakashi's and the Hyuga's. Drawn to the tall man on her left, Raiden found herself staring at his smooth, pale forehead. A forehead that didn't have a curse seal on it. He was from the head family, and normally, the Hyuga's refused to have any of their head family members on such a dangerous squad. She vaguely wondered why he was an ANBU, and made a mental note to ask him later. She tied her fox mask around the back of her head and settled it over her face. The cool surface brought back vivid memories that she quickly forced back. Right now was the time to concentrate on Tsunade.

"On this mission," she began, standing up and walking around the desk until she was in front of all three of the ANBU, "you will be hunting down and assassinating a nuisance of a ninja. His name is Nozomu Oozora, and he is known for his wide-spread talent of getting rid of those who get in the way of his business. This business consists of mainly robbery, treachery, and illegal substance trade. So far, he's killed three of our ANBU. Admitted, those ANBU were inexperienced newbies, but nonetheless, an attack on one of the Leaf ninja means an attack on Konoha itself.

"Raiden!" Raiden lifted her chin to tell she'd heard. ANBU were not to speak very much, only to communicate with one another, and they had a system of sign language they used. "I expect you to behave yourself on this mission and listen to your squad leader. Kakashi, you are squad leader, and I expect you to keep your team safe and complete the mission. This will be your first time in years working with our stubborn fox here, and your first time ever working with Kouki. Oozora was last sighted in the area between the Leaf and the Grass villages. Good luck."

The three of them made chakra signs and disappeared.

vvv

Kakashi, Kouki, and Raiden ran through the trees on the outskirts of Konoha, decked out completely in their ANBU gear. It was a known pact that during the mission, none of them would remove their masks in the presence of another, some unwritten rule that all of the ANBU followed. No one dared to break that pact, for fear it would cause the members to have a lack of respect for one another.

Raiden had already memorized the faces of her comrades' masks. Kakashi was a wolf, and henceforth until the mission was completely would be known as Wolf. Kouki wore a mask painted to resemble a hawk, which he'd be called, and Raiden would be referred to as Fox. It was already a dangerous thing that the three knew each other's names, much less what their true faces looked like. Placing Raiden on a team with Kakashi had been an unintelligent move to begin with, since they'd grown up together and were at the very least acquaintances, or friends, too, maybe. Knowing your squad on any personal level could give you more incentive to risk your own life in hopes you'd be protecting theirs.

And although Raiden had never been one to try and throw herself in front of an attack to protect someone—she hadn't loved someone other than her brother enough to do that—she still knew what Minato had drilled into her mind over and over again: your team is the most important thing. Protect them at all costs.

From the description in the man's file, Nozomu Oozora was a tall, strong, intelligent man with a head full of brown hair and a mustache. He supposedly wore sunglasses all the time, but witnesses said he had black eyes, not brown, not dark brown, black, like the Uchiha eyes. Raiden knew that finding him wouldn't be difficult, because people who were in businesses like his always walked around exuding confidence and found amusement in the most disgusting, grotesque of things. She couldn't wait to have a hand in his killing.

The entire time—from the office to where they were now—Kakashi hadn't spoken a word to her. He'd barely greeted her back in the temple, and since then had acted as if she weren't there, like she was just a disembodied, annoying voice. And for once she didn't have inkling as to why. Despite how long she'd known him and how good of an idea she had of how his mind worked, she couldn't figure out why he was so angry with her. And she knew he was angry. She could tell by the way he was running.

She felt her sword bump against her back as they ran, and became suddenly reassured by its presence. Many times she'd been in battle with strong ninja, her only intent being to kill as quickly as possible, and through all those moments her sword had been with her. It had waited through every fight, waiting until the time when she would need to use it, no matter how reluctant she was. Okay, so she'd relied on it a few times, but none of them had been dire situations, only instances when she'd been a little too lazy to actually fight hard.

She remembered seeing Minato practice with it during her days as a Chunin, which had been pretty short-lived. He had handled it with skill, precision, and ease in such a way that she couldn't help but envy him. She'd watched and become completely engrossed in how he'd moved as if the sword were merely an extension of his arm—a sharp, dangerous, and slightly heavy extension. And since she'd appeared so interested, her brother had taken her out and worked with her on how to use the sword.

Her mouth curved into a smile underneath the porcelain mask and she reached back to touch the hilt of the sword. Maybe this time, she'd be lucky enough to be able to use it. Using Minato's sword in battle would be like fighting alongside her brother, the one thing she'd never been able to do. Even during the Kyuubi attack, Minato had been forced to stay in the safe area, unable to help. That is, until he'd broken out and come up with his plan to save Konoha.

Kakashi and Kouki stopped, and she followed suit, standing in between the two of them. Both wore similar outfits to hers, the only difference being size, and hers was more form fitting. Kakashi didn't look at her, but scanned the surrounding area. He nodded, and the three jumped to the ground, landing soundlessly on the soft earth below.

"Here is a good spot to camp," he said, and Kouki immediately started kicking sticks and leaves away from a spot in between the two large trees. Raiden started picking up pieces of branch and longer sticks that would serve well as firewood, and Kakashi brought rocks to make a circle around the spot Kouki was clearing. In a few minutes, they had a small fire going. The sun was setting fast—it was around that time of day when there was no sun in the sky, but there was no mood. Not quite night, but a little farther along than dusk.

Raiden sat across from the two men, her mask still on, feeling a few trickles of sweat beginning to dry under the porcelain. She wanted to take off the mask, to wipe her face and rub her eyes, but those were the rules and she couldn't break them. Not even Tsunade was allowed to bend the rules a little bit.

Kakashi's mask gazed at her over the flames of the fire, but she couldn't be sure if he was looking at her or something else. His mask hid his eyes completely from view. She knew that all night he would be keeping watch with his Sharingan, switching shifts with the Byakugan user at his left. Without his headband, Kakashi's Sharingan was on all the time, taking a huge strain on his chakra.

Raiden tried to see if she could catch his eye, but every time she did, he looked purposefully away. She felt a tug in her chest and stood up, clenching her fists. She didn't say anything about where she was going, she just walked into the woods, pulling her sword from her sheath as she went.

* * *

**Hooray!!!! More drama!!! And yes, I couldn't resist putting Minato's sword in there, cuz all of the ANBU I've ever seen on the show and in the manga have had a sword of some type strapped to their back. Why shouldn't Raiden have one? I know Kakashi does--his father's sword, which got broken anyway, but whater. **

**Anywho, for those of you who wonder where I got the title, it's from the song "Is Forever Enough" by Hawk Nelson. Go download, it's awesome to listen to. :D Props to Three Days Grace and all my usual bands!**

**Review!!!  
****Luv ya!**


	11. Minato's Sword

**Okay, this is a revised version of chapter eleven, cuz I REALLY didn't like how I'd written it before and I received negative reviews (well, a few, and it was bugging me, too), so I fixed it:D here u go!**

**Luv much**

**Nicola**

* * *

Raiden walked through the trees for several minutes, trying to find a spot where she would be both out of hearing range and out of view of the Byakugan and the Sharingan. She didn't want to be disturbed.

About a hundred feet from the makeshift campsite (which really wasn't much of a campsite, since they'd only be there for a few hours at the most), Raiden settled on a tiny little clearing between three massive trees. She sat down in the middle, looking up at the blackened sky, and tried to make out the starts through the thick branches and leaves. She still held her sword in her left hand, and laid it out before her on the ground, taking care to prevent dirt getting on it. She took off her glove, dug around in one of the pouches on her waist, and resurfaced with a silky white cloth.

Turning the cloth around to the other side, she traced the initials sown into the fabric in a gentle red color. _N.M._ She sighed, refusing to think about when her brother had given her the sword and shown her the cloth he used to shine it up. Instead of dwelling in the past like she so tended to do, she pulled the sword into her lap and started shining it, rubbing the silk cloth over the hard, cold, steel surface slowly and gently, with a care she only took with the sword. It had been her brothers—of course she'd want to take care of it like nothing else, like she should have taken care of Naruto.

She had polished the blade so many times, her fingers knew their way around it like they knew their way around a kunai, or a shuriken. And her arms and hands had once been shaped around the sword, around how it handled and how it moved, but that was a while ago, before she'd left the village. Now, seven years later, she could only hope that her muscles remembered the sequences used with the sword, the care, precision, and skill necessary for fighting with it. Before, she'd been formed so easily around the sword that it felt like an extension of her arm, like her own hand sharpened into a long, dangerous blade. Her polishing finished, Raiden stood, taking the blade with her.

She situated her fingers around the hilt of the sword, trying to find a comfortable spot to hold it. There, she remembered, her fingers fit perfectly on this part, the sides of her first finger and thumb resting on the pommel. Slowly, she gave the sword a full, sort of awkward swoop through the air. It felt strange, but kind of familiar, and again she tried, this time a little more gracefully. The sword wobbled a bit, though, making a weird twanging noise that made her want to grit her teeth together.

She recalled Minato teaching her that being agile with a sword all began in the way you handled the hilt. Being able to move the sword with the slightest flick of the wrist, twitch of the fingers, was extremely important in a fight. So he'd show her a trick—spin the sword using only your fingers and your wrist, not your arm. Do not move your elbow, he'd said, and for hours and hours she'd practiced, trying to do what he said. Around dusk that night, Minato had come back to see how she was doing, and she'd been able to spin the sword around without moving her elbow or arm.

Now, with the movements he'd shown her clear in her mind, she started moving the blade from finger to finger, slowly building up until she was spinning it in a smooth, even circle, cutting through the air. A grin spread across her face, and she halted the spinning to move her mask to the back of her head. It would be easier to watch her movements without the mask obscuring her view.

After her little success with spinning her sword, she became more confident, trying out increasingly more difficult moves until everything started coming back to her, and she moved with ease. Thankfully, her muscle memory recalled ever bit of training with the sword she'd gone through, and did not protest even during the most difficult, physically challenging moves. Jabs, spins, twists, slashes, slices, even using the sword to balance above the ground. They all came back to her with a relishing feeling, and she couldn't help but let out a tiny whoop of glee.

Someone in the trees behind her cleared their throat, and she stopped mid-jab to turn around and look. Mask still in place, Kakashi moved out of the darkness of the trees, and reached back for his sword. Raiden quickly pulled her mask back into place and stood at ease, but not too relaxed, because she could tell that Kakashi was up to something just by the way he moved.

Kakashi spun his sword around in a figure-eight at his side and crouched into a stance, prepared to fight. Understanding that he was requesting a spar, Raiden held her sword out by her shoulder and crouched, too, smirking under her porcelain mask. Kakashi rushed at her, and their blades clanged together, sounding very loud in the silence of the forest. They separated, then came at each other again, matching each others attacks and mixing a little bit of taijustu in with the sword combat. A few kicks blocked by the flat side of a sword, a slash dodged and followed by a swift punch prevented by a flip to the other direction and a slice at the fist.

Raiden felt right at home cutting and dodging and kicking and jabbing, performing some sort of elegant dance with her opponent. They moved perfectly in time with each other, the clangs of their swords clashing together becoming the music, the beat, the sound of their feet scuffling the dirt becoming words to a language neither of them could understand. If they hadn't had swords in their hands and ANBU masks on their faces, one might have mistaken their twists and turns and body movements as an elegantly choreographed dance.

Finally, Kakashi held his sword across his chest, a sign that he was done. Raiden relaxed her position and placed her sword across her chest, too. Kakashi sheathed his blade, while she dug out the polishing cloth and started cleaning her sword. Again. She sat down to do this, and heard Kakashi walk quietly across the grass to sit next to her. She knew he wanted to say something, because he kept taking deep breaths of air and making that little "ahh" sound that meant he was struggling with words. So she heaved a huge sigh and flipped her sword around and placed it back in its holder.

She brought one knee up to rest her elbow on and sighed again, starting in vain to try and see the stars. At her irritated mew of frustration, she felt a hand reach up to her mask and pull it to the side of her face. She blinked, startled, and automatically reached up and grabbed the hand. It was, of course, Kakashi.

"You'll be able to see well if you move your mask off your face," he said simply, and she realized that he, too, had shifted his mask to the side of his head. She felt herself flush in the face, her ears going red, too, and turned away from him.

"And you know the rules of the mission," she stated simply in a cold, hard voice. Kakashi chuckled lightly.

"Since when have you been one for the rules, Raiden?"

Raiden actually had to think about this one. Okay, so she'd broken the rules by running after Minato when he'd died, broken the rules by giving Naruto up to the orphanage because of her own selfish needs, broken the rules by training Naruto and eventually revealing to him his parentage when everyone already knew that he had a big ego and learning that his father was the Fourth would only boost it. So, alright, she wasn't big on rules. That didn't mean Kakashi couldn't follow them, or that she couldn't obey the rules for once, either.

With a sigh, she shrugged. "So? I can be good for once, can't I?"

"Yeah," Kakashi said, sounding more irritable now. "You really can."

Insulted, Raiden cocked her head to the side and glared. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kakashi scoffed. "Typical. You're ignorant to your own ways." He chuckled darkly, and her glare intensified as she silently demanded he tell her what he was prattling on about. "Oh, come on, Raiden. The Konoha Festival? Don't tell me you're dumb enough not to realize what's going on."

For a split second, Raiden couldn't come up with what he was talking about, and then it clicked. Genma. Kakashi was jealous of Genma. And with that conclusion in her head, she let out a hoot of laughter that led to another giggle, and in a minute, she was laughing out of control, holding her sides while Kakashi's gray and red eyes glowered at her. What a stupid idea! Why the hell would Kakashi get jealous of Genma? It wasn't like she still liked him or anything! Besides, Genma had gotten there first, and if Kakashi had wanted to ask her to the Festival, he should've done it.

Finally, she calmed herself down enough to reply, "Come on, Kakashi! Don't you think it's a bit childish to be acting like that? Just because I'm going to the Festival with Genma doesn't mean you have to get all jealous and knotted up over it."

"Jealous?" Kakashi growled, standing up. Raiden, not wanting to be looked down on, stood, too. "Are you trying to say that you think I'm jealous of Genma?"  
"Well, duh," she said, rolling her eyes. "You wanted to ask me to the Festival, and Genma beat you to it, so you're acting like a little two-year-old whose toy was taken away from him. Jeez, Kakashi, and you though I was dense."

"You're damn right I wanted to ask you to the Festival!" Kakashi hollered, and Raiden involuntarily took a step back. She hadn't expected him to blow up like this. "You should have figured that out already! You're supposed to be smart, to be able to figure things out like this! What, has Genma turned your brain to mush already? Oh, and I expect that you spent all last night in his apartment, right? Of course you did. You just _love_ Genma!"

Raiden was utterly taken aback, shaking from head to toe. Kakashi thought that she would just jump into bed with any guy who built up the courage to ask her out? Was he freaking insane or something? He should know her better! "You—you—how could you make assumptions like that, Kakashi?!" she cried, feeling a sob rising in her throat. Her life-long friend didn't trust her. Why didn't he trust her?! "For as long as you've known me, you think I'd do something with Genma? How could you say something like that!" The tears were in her eyes now, and she could feel them starting to creep towards the edge.

She swiped the back of her hand over her eyes, drew her mask over her face, and turned to walk away from him. She knew he was probably still fuming, but hoped that in a few hours he'd realize his mistake and feel terrible about it. Because he should. He shouldn't have judged her that way, let his jealousy take over his good judgment.

"Wait, Raiden!" he called after her, and she heard him rushing after her, his feet skimming the grass loudly. She turned, and forced herself to sound cold and emotionless.

"You know the rules," she snarled, glaring from behind her mask. "You don't refer to me by my name, _Wolf_."



Back at the makeshift campsite, Kouki had already doused the fire and was standing with his arms crossed, leaning against a tree, as he waited for them. Raiden walked past her, and she could feel his glare even through her mask. She shivered involuntarily, checked her pouches to make sure everything was there, and looked in Kakashi's direction. Without uttering a sound, Kakashi told them to get a move on with a jerk of his chin.

The three set off at a rapid run, keeping to the ground instead of the trees. They stayed in the same formation, though—Kakashi at the head, Raiden flanked at his left, Kouki on his right. Raiden focused her attentions on the spot just in front of Kakashi, not wanting to look at the insulting man. Their masks were back in place, their cool, ruthless demeanor hiding their anticipation and maybe their fear. And covering any of the feelings her face might portray.

She'd imagined that, after telling Naruto of his parentage and forgiving Kakashi (finally), life would be something around "picture perfect," like it was supposed to be. But now, her opinion on life was completely the opposite—life sucked. Her long-time friend probably hated her now, Naruto was off training and she still had no idea how he'd reacted to her letter, Tsunade barely trusted her, Genma liked her, and, to top it all off, she was faced every day with the death of her brother, and no amount of mental blockage could keep her from being reminded of it.

She dodged a tree on her right, and ran a hand over the back of her neck. It was starting to get warm outside—very warm. Weren't nights supposed to get cooler, not hotter? She heaved out a quiet breath, wondering why Kakashi would get so jealous as to make such snide comments to her. Upsetting him hadn't been her goal. Honestly, she'd imagined he wouldn't care. Really, they didn't have the childish feelings they'd had for each other years ago anymore. They were past that, she was sure of it. Right?  
"Fox," Kouki said suddenly, and Raiden turned her head to look at him. He was staring straight at her as they ran and dodged trees, and she held his gaze.

"Yes?"

"What is up with you and Wolf?"

Great, he was observant. "Nothing's going on with us, Hawk. There's nothing to worry about here other than the mission at hand. Alright?"

She saw him shake his head, and he said, "No, it's not alright." He glanced back up at Kakashi to make sure he wasn't in hearing distance. "If you two can't handle being on the same team, the mission is going to suffer. So you'd better kiss and make up or something, because if we fail this assassination, my clan won't let me be in the ANBU anymore!"

Raiden raised an eyebrow. So that was what was up with him. He may have been a head family member, but apparently there were terms that came with being an ANBU. "So you're not allowed to be in the ANBU unless you complete all your missions?"

"Yes!" he hissed under his breath, so quietly she was almost unable to hear him. "I don't want the two of you to screw this up for me! Mind you, it's my first assassination mission, too!"

"Okay, first off, I've been on more assassination missions that you ever will. And secondly, I can't help it if you're clans full of a bunch of jerks. It's not my fault that this mission depends on you staying in the ANBU or not. Sorry."

She turned her head the other way and started running faster, and heard his irritated and exaggerated scoff. A smirk played on her lips, but she kept her head turned away. It wasn't necessary, considering she was wearing a mask, but she preferred the blatant gesture to anything else.

"You know," Kouki snapped, coming up on her right, "I do think Wolf was right when he said you were an arrogant little child who only wanted attention out of life. And that you were a slut, too."

This stopped her in her tracks, and she grabbed Kouki by his shirt to stop him too. Her face under the mask was livid, but of course he couldn't see that. So she worked as much of a glower out of her mask and it seemed to get across, because he stiffened and tilted his head to the side. She let a snarl loose from her gritted teeth.

"Watch your mouth, Hawk," she snapped. "If you know what's good for you."

She turned away from him and kept running, having noticed that Kakashi had seen them stop and was slowing up. In a few strides she was back in position and gaining on the gray-haired man ahead of her. She heard Kouki running a few feet behind her, and slowed her pace to allow him to catch up. Kakashi seemed to study them for a few moments before picking up speed and continuing on their way.



Kakashi threw his arm out to signal the others behind him to stop, which they did on either side of him. Raiden drew her sword silently out of its sheath and watched the blade glint in the early morning sunlight. They'd been running for hours, and now it seemed they'd found something. Finally.

Raiden followed the tilt of Kakashi's head and blinked. Had they already found their target? Oh, it was too soon! She fought against the sigh building up in her chest and glanced over at Kakashi for further instruction. He waved a hand at her to signal that he had no problem with her taking out Nozomu Oozora. Good. It was bound to give her some sort of adrenaline rush, like it used to. The feel of her sword in her hand, the mask on her face, the swift swooshing sound of the sword singing through the air towards its target. Gooseflesh crept up her arms and she suppressed a shiver.

This was going to be too easy. She was almost disappointed. She crouched, ready to spring, sword held aloft.

In a split second, it was all over.

Blood spilled onto the ground, and the edge of Raiden's sword was streaked with the crimson liquid. She sighed, jumped back into the trees, and sheathed the blade. Too easy, of course. The man hadn't stood a chance. Kakashi jumped off of the tree branch to collect the proof that they had indeed killed Nozomu Oozora. He shoved the "prize" into a gunny sack, slung it over his shoulder, and motioned for Kouki to start heading back. He pointed at Raiden, gestured her towards him, and lifted his mask off of his face and to the side of his head. She did the same, checking momentarily over her shoulder to make sure that Kouki was already at a safe distance away. In truth, she didn't really care what Kakashi was trying to talk to her about. She just wanted to get home. Home. Had she really just considered Konoha her home? A smile tugged on her lips at the idea. She hadn't called the Leaf village her real, true home in a long time. It felt nice to be able to think about it that way again.

"What?" she hissed under her breath, unable to make her tone truly irritable because of her suddenly giddy mood. They'd completed a mission, her first assassination in such a long time, and she had accidentally called Konoha her home, a welcome thought indeed.

To her horror, and to her strange delight, she saw Kakashi lowering his face towards her. She swallowed hard and thought briefly of Genma, and of her brother, and of the times she'd spent with Kakashi when they'd been teenagers. The black tattoo on her arm burned lightly, her heart thudded relentlessly in her chest, her breath caught in her throat. Was he seriously about to…to…kiss her?

His hands reached out for her face, and she watched them nervously, frozen in place, unable to move. What was going on? Kakashi didn't have feelings for her anymore, did he? Was that the reason he was pissed about her going to the Festival with Genma? So he was jealous after all! Ha, she'd known it!

Kakashi's lips were only a fraction of an inch away from hers, his hand lightly resting on her neck. She still couldn't breath, couldn't move, couldn't even feel anything but the warmth of his hand and the tickle of his breath on her face. She shivered as his lips brushed up against hers in the most teasing of ways, and fought back the urge to kiss him full-out. She would let him make the first move, not her. She wasn't going to confirm his suspicions of her being a slut. Ugh, the thought of it repulsed her.

And then, she felt something wiz by her ear.

Her hair flew lightly into the air, and surprised, she turned her head to see what had been thrown. Eyes widening, she saw that it had been a kunai, and that it was now lodged in a man's chest. The man stumbled back a step, fell, and lay there unmoving. Raiden looked back to Kakashi, saw that his mask was pulled over his face and his stance rigid. There were more men.

She yanked her mask onto her face, glaring through the small eyeholes. Not only would her mask keep enemies from seeing what she looked like, but it would also keep Kakashi from seeing the blush creeping across her cheeks. Her face felt hot, and she was terribly embarrassed. Of course, why should she think Kakashi would kiss her? They were arguing, they weren't anywhere close to being friends. He wouldn't kiss her for the life of him. It had only been a distraction, something to keep her still so he wouldn't have to worry about aiming for the lurking ninja. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Raiden drew a kunai from her pouch, crouched low, mimicking Kakashi's stance, and scowled, trying to disperse with her embarrassment. This wasn't a time to be all upset and fretting over nothing. She needed to fight right now.

Five men came out of the trees, and, with a wince, Raiden realized they were much, much taller and broader than either her or Kakashi. The only happy thought she could find was that Kouki was already on his way back, and wouldn't get injured. The obviously younger man's life was more important than hers or Kakashi's. Konoha could get along without them, but if a Hyuga from the main family was killed on a mission, there would be hell to pay. Those Hyuga's had nasty tempers.

The biggest, burliest of the men stepped forward, a long, glinting katana in his hand. Raiden eyed it warily and quickly tossed her kunai to the ground to draw out her sword, Minato's sword. This might just be the time to use it, she thought as she readjusted her stance to correspond with the blade. If anything, it would be swift and loyal in her grasp, and would serve her perfectly no matter the outcome of this fight. She suppressed a shiver, glanced at Kakashi (who also had drawn his sword), and launched herself at the front man.

She barely had time to notice his black eyes and sandy blonde hair before their swords were clashing and clanging, the noise breaking the utter silence of the woods. He was strong, using only one hand while she was forced to use two. It was the only way she could match his strength, apparently. She ground her teeth together, pushed harder against the man's sword. She would push him back, she would kill at least one of them, so why not let it be him? She had nothing else to lose—only her life.

A morbid thought crossed her mind. If she died, she would be with her brother, again, finally. Her tension wavered, and she found herself sliding backwards; she shoved against him and his sword, planting her feet firmly on the ground as thoughts of Minato swam through her mind. She wouldn't give up—Minato wouldn't want her to. She would go forward, beat as many of these men as she could. For her brother. With his sword. If she failed here, who would be there for Naruto when he came back? Who would look out for Konoha while Naruto was gone, until Naruto became the Hokage? No one, that's who. She had a responsibility she needed to go through with, and she wasn't going to fail her brother for a second time.

With a sudden burst of resolve, Raiden focused most of her chakra into her hands and into the sword, increasing her strength by tenfold. The man she was battling with stared at her as she began to push him backwards, clouds of dust rising from the ground around his skidding feet. Raiden grunted with effort, but she was doing it, she was beating him.

And then, in his small moment of shock, she saw her opening. She used the hilt of her sword to sharply rap him on the wrist. It was a risk, because it weakened her stance and her hold on the blade, but the hit on the man's wrist sent his sword out of his hand. It landed with its tip in the ground. Raiden didn't hesitate for a second. She dug her sword into the man's chest, twisted, and yanked it out. He fell in a crumpled heap on the ground.

One glance over her shoulder told her that while her little battle had been going on, Kakashi had been taking on the other four men, and that he desperately needed some help. A smirk played on her lips as she leapt into the mess of fighting ninja, slashing and jabbing and twisting wildly and yet somehow gracefully. She barely saw Kakashi, who was moving in a similar way just inches from her. The crowded little circle of tussling men—and one woman, who was kicking butt by the way—made almost no noise whatsoever. The only sounds were those of scuffling feet and the occasional strange twang of swords.

Suddenly, Raiden stopped fighting and pulled her sword out of the stomach of the man she'd been clashing with. He fell to the ground and stayed there without the twitch of a muscle, but she ignored him. She'd sensed movement to her right, and a chakra she thought she'd gotten rid of before. With her sword in her hand, she crept quietly past the body of the man she had just killed, past Kakashi (who was still fighting with the remaining two men), and to the shadow she saw peeking out from behind a tree. Moving silently like she'd been trained to, she lifted her sword in the air and in with a quick, sweeping movement, had the blade at the man's neck, her arm trapping his arms at his sides. A smirk played on her lips below the mask. So she hadn't killed their real target at first. Well, she wouldn't make that mistake again.

"You can't run when there's nowhere to hide," she hissed in his ear, and felt the man shudder. Nozomu Oozora was at large as his pictures showed, but apparently Raiden had expected too much out of his skill. Oozora didn't seem to have an ounce of strength in him, and she was sadly disappointed.

With one halfhearted slice, Nozomu Oozora was killed, and their mission was completely. Raiden dragged the lifeless and bleeding body back over to Kakashi, who had succeeded in killing the last two men. He nodded to her, replaced his previous "prize" with the real one, slung the gunny sack over his shoulder, and took out a scroll. He snapped his fingers, it lit on fire, and he threw it onto the bodies of the dead men. It wasn't long before the terrible stench of burning corpses filled the air. Raiden wrinkled her nose and fought back the need to cough. It stunk, bad.

The two waited until the bodies were completely ashes, then Kakashi called the fire back to the scroll and tucked it into his pouch. He glanced over at Raiden, who flushed hotly under her mask, and jumped off into the trees. She followed, lagging a little ways behind, her heart aching.

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**Finally, the REAL chatper eleven is written. I just COULD NOT stnad it. So...yeah, it was really bother me, so I had to change it and stuff. It's better now. I'm happy! **

**Read and review (positively :D--look, it's a mustache smiley face!)**

**Much Love!'**

**Nicola**


	12. The Festival

**HEY! PAY ATTENTION TO THIS PLEASE!!! Okay, now that I've got your attention, go back and read chapter eleven. I was unsatisfied by it, so I redid it. :D Okay? Okay. THen you can read this. But to make sure you pay attention to this: LOOK OVER HERE!!!!!!!!!! HEY!!!!!!!!! OVER HERE!!! O V E R H E R E!!!! okie doke.**

**This is the last chapter (before the epilouge) of this story. And I have to admit, I liked it, and I like epilouge alot. I had one song on repeat (Tim McGraw--If you're reading this) if that would help you any in your wondering what its about. So read!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto and all characters and stuff belong to Masashi Kishimoto (spell check, anyone?)**

**Much luv**

**Nicola**

**

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Chapter Twelve: The Festival**

Raiden ran a brush through her wet blonde hair, carefully picking through the tangles. It was the day of the Konoha Festival, three days after her strange mission with Kakashi and the Hyuga whose name she really couldn't remember. Genma was supposed to meet her outside the gates, simply because she didn't want him to see her room right now, and they were to head out to the Festival. She had her outfit all picked out and ready, and couldn't wait.

She stared at the blue eyes reflected in the mirror, wondering what she would be doing right now if Minato were still alive. Would she be waiting for Kakashi to come get her? Would Minato be walking in at this moment, dressed in his get-out-and-have-fun clothes, ready to help her get dressed? Would he give her a hug and say how proud he was of her? She shook her head fervently, stood up, and blocked out all thoughts of her brother. She didn't want to think about him right now. She needed to get ready.

Once she was satisfied that her hair was free of knots and tangles, she stood up from her vanity mirror and headed over to her bed, where her outfit lay. The simple but flattering red shirt coupled with white cargo pants made a nice going-out-to-have-fun combination. She had only recently bought it, the colors chosen because they'd been her and her brother's favorite. Hell, if the color scheme wasn't any indication of her favorite colors, then nothing would be.

She quickly pulled the clothes on, slipped her feet into flip flops, and began to French braid her hair. For once, her blonde locks behaved themselves and were soon smoothed into a neat plait going down her back. One glance at the clock told her she should head out to meet Genma, and she shoved a few bills into her pocket before walking out of her room.

Outside of the gates surrounding the Hokage temple, Genma waited, in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and he grinned the moment he saw her. She smiled back, a little shyly, wondering somewhere in the back of her mind what Kakashi would look like dressed in the same get up. Probably better-looking than Genma, but she wasn't going to be telling him that.

"Hey," she said, walking beside the Jounin.

"What's up?" Genma asked, putting his arm around her shoulder. The embrace felt weird, but she leaned into it, ignoring the strange feeling in her stomach. Genma was a sweet man, and he would never do anything to hurt her.

"Nothin' much," she replied, putting her arm around his waist. That felt a little bit better, but it was still off. "And you?"

"Eh, same old stuff," Genma said, and chuckled. Raiden chuckled with him, and she was beginning to feel more comfortable by the time they reached the Festival.

Streamers hung from everywhere, paper lanterns strung along them, people crowding the streets. There were game stands set up, lottery tickets being handed out, food every few steps, and a stage set up for the band, who was presently blasting out one of the more popular songs. There were rides, too, including a Ferris wheel, one of those giant swing things, and a bungee jump. Raiden eyed the bungee with excitement glittering in her blue eyes. She loved dangerous activities, and she'd never tried bungee jumping before.

"Hey, Genma," she said slowly, looking at him with the most imploring expression she could muster up. "Would you please take me to try that?"

She pointed, and Genma looked in the direction she was gesturing at. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped before he regained his cool composure and replied, "Nah. Normally, I would, but not tonight. Just ate." He rubbed his stomach for good measure, and Raiden snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, whatever." Then, despite her disappointment, she forced herself to be a little more cheery and said, "We should go play some games." But even as they walked towards the game stands, she knew damn well what she wanted. There weren't going to be many games played, because as soon as she found a certain gray-haired ninja, she was going to be on that bungee launch, with a cord hooked to a harness on her legs, ready to jump.

Kakashi was up for anything, she knew, and if her plan worked out the way she wanted it to, she would have him up on that bungee launch in a matter of minutes. He was terribly competitive, and couldn't turn down a dare. Or a bet. She would simply complain about not getting to go up and jump, and mutter about how men were wimps, and then point out Kakashi as a wimp. He'd tell her that she was just being stupid and she'd never jump anyway, and she'd claim that she would jump before he would. And it would all just snowball from there.

She was barely able to pass of the cynical laugh that burst out of her mouth as a happy giggle when Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, and Iruka walked up. She waved eagerly at her friends, who returned the gesture—all except Kakashi, who just lifted his chin in her general direction, his eye resting solely on Genma. Genma grinned, as if he didn't know why Kakashi was glaring at him in an oh-so-subtle way, and Raiden shook her head.

"You guys having fun?" she inquired, breaking the tension between the two men.

"Oh, a good bit of it," Kakashi answered in a cool, but somehow bored tone. He shrugged one shoulder. "I've been to better parties."

"Sure you have," she snipped, letting go of Genma to put her hands on her hips. "You guys are always so boring." She jerked her thumb in Genma's direction. "He doesn't want to go on the bungee jump. And I want to."

"Oh, well," Kakashi said, and she could tell he was smirking under his mask. "That's what you get, then, I guess."

"Whatever." She snorted and walked over to Kurenai. "They're all stiffs, aren't they?" Kurenai nodded her agreement, and Asuma looked mildly insulted. The two women chuckled and rolled their eyes.

"What would you like to do, then, other than bungee jumping?" Genma wanted to know, and Raiden shrugged.

"I dunno. Jump off a twenty-story launch with a giant rubber band tied to my legs? Oh, wait, that's bungee jumping." Alright, if Genma's exasperated expression was any indication, she was on the right track. Now only for a little more prodding. "Kakashi," she said suddenly, wheeling on the gray-haired man.

"Hmm?" He seemed uninterested, but Raiden knew him too well. He wanted to know what she was plotting.

"Would you ever go bungee jumping?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Oh, come on, don't tell me you're a baby."

"No, I'm not," Kakashi said, a little defensively. "And you know that I'd go bungee jumping. I'm not afraid."

"Neither am I," Genma interjected, and Kakashi snorted. "What?"

"You know you're too damn scared to jump off of anything if you don't have control over your own body," he snapped, seeming amused at Genma's claim of bravery.

"Oh, really? Well then, let's just see." Genma grabbed Raiden by the arm and started towing her towards the bungee jump. "Let's go bungee jumping."



Up on the bungee launch, Raiden felt her blood pounding in her ears. She was really going to get to jump off this huge tower, tied only to a thin piece of elastic. There wasn't a word for the excitement coursing through her veins as she took in the view from up here. You could see everything!

In front of her, Genma was getting prepped to jump. The harness and elastic cord were tied to his legs, and he was standing on the edge of the launch, looking brave. Kakashi was behind him, no doubt tantalizing him, but Raiden didn't care. She just wanted to see him do it, so then Kakashi could jump, and then she could. Ooh! She really, really couldn't wait to feel herself flying through the air, totally free, and in complete danger. It would be a thrill like no other, and probably one of the best moments in her life.

Then, before her eyes, Genma jumped. She heard his frantic scream as he plunged downwards headfirst, and heard the little snap of the cord as it stretched to its limit. She knew that if he stretched out his hand, he would be able to touch the ground, and then he was coming back up, flying upwards into the air, descending, the process continuing until the cord finally lost its momentum and he was suspended a few inches above the ground.

An attendant at the bottom untied him, helped him to his feet, and patted his shoulder. Genma held his arms up in the air and whooped excitedly. "Hell yeah!"

Raiden laughed, and took as step forward as Kakashi went to get ready. She didn't notice his sideways glance at her, but she saw him mutter something to the attendant, who stepped forward and motioned for her to come on and get harnessed. She gave Kakashi a look of bewilderment, stepped forward, and shrugged. "Whatever."

The man attached the harness to her feet, making sure it was secure and that she wasn't going to slip out of it. Kakashi watched all this with a careful eye, as if he were the only thing standing between her and certain death. She ignored it, though, and took the last step onto the edge of the launch.

Below, she saw Genma waving excitedly up at her, and from what she could tell, he was having the time of his life. She smiled, glad that he'd gone bungee jumping. At least she'd brought a little excitement to his life.

And then, she jumped.

The wind whipped her hair away from her face as she pelted face-first towards the ground. Her blood pounded heavily in her ears, coursing through her veins. She was exhilarated, the amazing feel of flying and being weightless singing through her heart. This was great, invigorating. Her blue eyes were watering from the wing stinging them, and were beginning to hurt, but she didn't care. She was only concerned with waiting for the snap of the rope. But it didn't come.

Startled, she focused her chakra through the rope, and gasped. She was only a few feet from the ground, and there was a break in the bungee cord. It was small, but it was stretching, getting bigger, and was bound to snap in a moment. Her gazed turned upwards, and she screamed. What she screamed, she couldn't figure out, but the moment the word was out of her mouth, she felt something whoosh by her that wasn't the wind.

She screamed again as the ground came closer, and she could feel the dust on her fingertips. She was going to die, she knew it. She was going to be with Minato, and for once, at this moment, she didn't want to. She wanted to live, she wanted to stay and wait for Naruto, be with Kakashi and her friends, and…

It was a moment before she realized she'd stopped falling, and became conscious of the arms around her waist, the strong legs pressed against her back. She blinked, and peeked out of the corner of her eye at the oh-so-familiar legs. Kakashi, of course.

He untied her from the bungee cord, flipped her right-side up, and held her to him. Normally, she would've pushed away, but at the moment, her legs were wobbly and she didn't think she could have stood on them if she tried. She leaned heavily against Kakashi, breathing in his familiar scent. He had saved her from sure death, only one of the many times he'd risked his life for hers. She sighed and looked up at the masked face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking rather angry, but somehow tender at the same time. She nodded. "Good. Damn that idiot," he added under his breath. She followed his glare up to the attendant. "Should've seen the effing break in the cord, and this wouldn't have happened."

"Um, it's okay, Kakashi, I'm alright. No harm done," she tried to console, starting to become indignant. Okay, so he'd saved her life, and it was flattering to have him actually speaking to her, much less rescuing her, but picking a fight with a harmless attendant wasn't going to help anything.

"Something could have," he snapped, setting her on her feet. She wobbled unsteadily for a second, then gained back enough of her bearings to grab onto Kakashi's arm and prevent him from shoving his way back up the launch to throw the attendant off.

"Easy there, big fella," she growled, hauling him backwards. Genma was making his way back over to them, and she didn't want him going up there, too. "You calm yourself down right now."

"Are you okay? Raiden, are you alright?" Genma asked worriedly as he rushed up to pull her into a hug. She let him, but her eyes stayed trained on Kakashi, who was still seething in silence.

"Yes, I'm fine. No worries!" she said as brightly as possible, and pulled away to grab hold of Kakashi again. "Um, Genma, I'm really sorry, but I'd better keep an eye on Kakashi here for a while. You know his temper. Well, actually," she corrected herself, "you don't, but you don't' want to, either. So…I'll catch up with you guys later?"

Genma didn't seem at all affected by her dismissal—he had caught sight of scantily dressed women walking in the opposite direction. "Yeah, sure, whatever," he said, and ran to catch up to the women.

"Can I go kill the man now that you've gotten rid of any witnesses?" Kakashi said sarcastically, and Raiden socked him in the chest.

"Straighten up, Kakashi," she said in a low voice. "Because we're going to have fun tonight even if I have to risk my life a thousand more times."

Kakashi snorted, but followed her along anyway.

She shook her head as they weaved in and out of the crowds of people, wondering where Kakashi had gotten such a tempter. She'd never seen him this mad, only three times, the last two recently. The first time had been when she'd told him he was the reason for her leaving the village, their last fight before she'd left. And the other two…well, she'd rather not talk about them.

They walked in silence, Kakashi brooding and upset, Raiden impatiently waiting it out. Okay, she could've been more patient, but with Kakashi muttering under his breath, it took all of her reserves to keep from hitting him upside the head. So instead of socking him, she tried to sort out the jumble of feelings left over from her near-death experience.

She felt afraid, and worried, and on the verge of tears. Her heart ached and her head beat relentlessly, nerves making it go haywire. Her hands were shaking—she shoved them into her pockets so Kakashi wouldn't see. And, through all this fear and nervousness, she felt exhilarated and somewhat disappointed. A small part of her found excitement in the danger of nearly being killed. And an even tinier part was sadly disappointed that she hadn't died, an idea that sent a shock through her. Did she really want to die?  
There had been a point in her life, not long after Minato's death, that she'd seriously considered ending her existence. She had been hurting so badly it was killing her from the inside out. Becoming a literal zombie had not been what she'd envisioned for her life, not what Minato had wanted her to become. But the pain! It drove her near insanity, feeling so lonely, so much hatred towards everyone around her. Training, missions, eating, sleeping—everything felt so mechanical, so pointless and worthless. Why was she putting herself through these daily routines when there was no good reason for her to? Why was she living when she had no one to live for other than memories that made her heart ache?

Talking wasn't an option—no one would listen, no one cared. There were only two ways out in her mind. Either die, and end this misery, or struggle through it like a true ninja. She would have killed herself, just to be with Minato, had not she remembered their last conversation. He had promised to be with her for the rest of her life, as long as they both had their necklaces. He had reminded her of the importance of living up to the standards you set for yourself, to the oaths you took. He'd brought up his oath to protect the village with his own life, and his words had rung in her ears.

So, remembering her brother, and how much he wanted her to live, she'd fought back against the pain and anger, eventually numbing her body from all emotions. Leaving the village had been part of her escape plan, part of her idea to get away from the pain. The empty feelings in her chest went away as physical pain momentarily replaced it. The more she hurt on the outside, the less she hurt on the inside.

Raiden shuddered at the memories of what she'd done, and how close she'd come to ending her life. Kakashi looked down at her, having felt her shiver, and put his hand on her arm. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she snapped, and Kakashi nodded, looking a lot calmer since she'd drug him away from the bungee jumping. That really hadn't been her brightest idea.

As she turned back to her thoughts, she felt Kakashi take her hand in his, and let him, not caring at the moment. He was probably just leading her somewhere. But he wasn't, and it distracted her. She looked down at their laced fingers, up at his cool, collected face, and jiggled her arm. He started at the sudden movement and glanced over at her, his one gray eye inquiring.

"You're holding my hand," she said simply, and he nodded.

"Yup."

"Is there a reason?"

"Yup."

She sighed. He was starting to get on her nerves. "Can I know this reason?"

"You do."

Okay. Now it was infuriating. She gritted her teeth together and tried to take her hand from his. It wasn't going anywhere, apparently, for he had a death grip on it and was not letting go anytime soon. She huffed out a breath and continued to try to yank away from him, finally giving up and letting him hold her hand. At least, she preferred to think of it as letting him hold her hand, and not him forcing her to.

She let him steer her towards the game stands, and stood next to him as he paid the man for ten darts. He didn't even let go of her hand as he threw all ten darts at once, succeeding in hitting ten balloons and popping them. The man running the stand looked stunned, but he shouldn't have, since it was Kakashi. Kakashi tilted his head, and pointed at a giant, red, fluffy fox. The man took it down, handed it to the gray-haired ninja, and the couple walked off.

Kakashi handed the fox to Raiden, and she took it, surprised. He'd won it for her? Wow. No one (except Minato) had done that for her, and it was rather touching. She smiled shyly, muttered and equally shy "thanks" and let him take her to another game. This time, though, she had to protest.

"No, no, Kakashi, don't. You just won this fox, please don't be wasting all your money on games and stuff!" she exclaimed, but Kakashi only brushed it off as they approached a rope ladder game. The ladder was strung up at an angle and tied loosely at both ends. It was rope, with wood stakes as prongs. Kakashi let go of her hand, gave the man running the game some money, and climbed the ladder as easily as if he were walking. Raiden stared at him, then dug around in her pocket until she came up with some cash. "I gotta try this."

A few seconds later, Raiden had joined Kakashi at the top of the ladders, sitting idly as he picked out his stuffed animal. He chose a white wolf, and she chose the gorilla with a banana. She laughed, feeling great about herself, and continued to walk alongside Kakashi, hand in hand. Even though holding his hand made it awkward to carry two giant stuffed animals, it was worth it. She felt strangely happy, walking along as if she did this every day.

It wasn't long before both of them were so loaded with stuffed animals, beaded necklaces, and little glowing sticks that they had to waddle their way to the Ferris wheel. Kakashi asked the attendant there to watch their prizes and led her onto one of the compartments. It was a closed one—thank goodness, because she really wasn't in the mood for another plunge—and once they were shut it, she grabbed onto Kakashi's hand. Okay, it was sort of stupid and babyish, but even though she was a ninja, she still didn't like heights. And being on a giant metal contraption that couldn't be trusted as far as it could be thrown (by anyone _other _than Tsunade) didn't help.

"It's alright, Raiden," Kakashi laughed, squeezing her hand comfortingly. "I won't let you fall again."

"No, it's not that," she answered truthfully. "It's just I don't like being unable to control whatever I'm on or whatever I'm doing. It bothers me, I dunno. It's dumb."

But Kakashi shook his head. "No, I don't think it is. I think it's absolutely human for you to be upset about not being able to control something. I get that way. Especially when I'm around you."

Raiden was momentarily stunned, only able to say, "What?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah. It really bugs me that no matter what I do, or what I say, I can't get inside that thick skull of yours and get through to you. It's not that I want to completely control you, but you're so out of my reach, so uncontrollable, that it's infuriating. Which is why I keep coming back."

"Why?" she asked quietly as they stopped at the top of the Ferris wheel. It was just the two of them, up here all alone. Kakashi shrugged at her question, but avoided her gaze, and suddenly she knew what he was talking about. Her heart pounded behind her ribs, but it wasn't a bad sensation. For the first time, she was starting to admit to herself what she might feel towards Kakashi.

She took her hand out of his and reached up to his mask. "I know why." She tucked her finger under the top, slowly pulling it down to reveal the rest of his perfect face. She pushed his headband up to show his scarred Sharingan eye, and leaned closer. "You love me." And she kissed him.

Kakashi seemed surprised at first, but then he kissed her back, softly, passionately, slowly, and she savored in the moment. It felt amazing—she hadn't kissed Kakashi in such a long time. He'd been her first kiss, and now, at this second, it felt like he would be her last, too. She didn't know what it was, but intuition and the feel of his lips on hers combined to plant the idea that she and Kakashi would be spending a lot more time together after tonight.



Kakashi and Raiden walked into Kakashi's little house, tossing all the prizes on the couch in the bland living room. Raiden sat down in the chair, reluctantly letting go of Kakashi's hand as he walked over to the desk in the corner. He opened a drawer, pulled something out, and brought it to her. She took the picture frame from him and turned it over, gasping.

The picture that had been missing on his wall, the one she loved so much, was in her hands. It had been taken by Minato, who'd been hiding in the trees behind the bench she and Kakashi usually sat on. They were holding hands, looking at each other, not paying a single bit of attention to anyone else around them. Sure, they might have only been fourteen years old, but the feelings they held for each other were obvious in their eyes. She touched the glass, wondering why he'd brought it out now.

"Kakashi," she whispered, standing up and kissing him again. His mask was down, it had been since their Ferris wheel ride. They'd left right after that, walking slowly down the long, deserted road to his house, just talking quietly to each other, about the past, about each other.

Her kiss was chaste, and Kakashi wasn't satisfied with that. He pulled her to him, and picked her up, kissing her again. She kissed him back, feeling a sensation she hadn't known before. He carried her down the hall, kissing her hair, her forehead, the tip of her nose, and her lips over and over again until they reached his room. He led her inside, placed her on the bed, and shut the door.

* * *

**Okay, that was the last chapter. And I hope you went back and read chapter eleven, too, thank you very much. And in a few seconds, I'll have the next chapter (epilouge) up, too, so...yeah. Have fun! **

**REVIEW!**

**much luv**

**Nicola**


	13. Epilouge

**This is the last installment of "Is Forever Enough" sniff. It's been great! I had fun writing it, and there's still my other two stories!!!!! Anyway, this is set three years (or nearly three years) later, and I had so much fun writing it! I cried!**

**Disclaimer: wow, the last time I'll have to write this for this story--oh, BTW, if you haven't gotten the picture by now, you never will. So sorry!**

**luv much**

**Nicola**

* * *

Raiden slurped up another mouthful of ramen, enjoying the spicy taste of the food in her mouth. The man behind the counter chuckled at her enthusiasm, having watched her grow up and never seen her eat less than three bowls on her own. She grinned at him, a noodle sticking out of the corner of her mouth, and handed him the empty bowl.

"More, please?"

"Of course," the man said, and moved off to refill her bowl with some fresh ramen. She swiveled in her chair and leaned against the counter, a coy smile playing on her lips at the sight of the gray-haired man reading his book just inside the ramen shop, his one eye scanning the pages. He would never change, would he?

She cleared her throat, and Kakashi looked up. She could tell that he, too, was smiling under his mask, and she tilted her head. He walked over to her, lowered his mask, and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "You shouldn't live off of only ramen, you know."

"Yeah, I know," she replied, beginning her consumption of the third ramen bowl that had just been placed in front of her. Kakashi plopped into the seat on her right side, shaking his head as he put his book into his pocket. She smiled a sloppy smile at him, earning a glare, and slurped up the last bit of ramen left.

She placed her money on the counter, waved goodbye, and walked out with Kakashi by her side. He took her hand in his, squeezing it gently. She felt that now familiar warmth spread over her at the feel of Kakashi's hand in hers. Nearly three years she'd been back at the village, and for two and a half of those Kakashi had been there for her, taking care of her, putting up with her mood swings and her tantrums and her frequently occurring breakdowns. That day, the Konoha Festival, had been the turning point. Kakashi had saved her from a faulty bungee cord, keeping her from falling from the bungee launch and cracking her head open. After that, Genma didn't exist. Only Kakashi. Just Kakashi.

A sigh came from her mouth as she leaned against Kakashi's shoulder. He took his hand from hers and put it around her shoulders. She felt so warm and at home in his arms. And…she saw the glint of a ring on her hand and smirked. A year and a half ago, he had proposed. She'd said yes, and before she'd known it, they'd been officially husband and wife. How quickly things flew by when you came back to Konoha.

Of course, after that, it hadn't been long before Kakashi had given her the greatest gift any man could. She sighed again, thinking of the blonde-haired little boy waiting for them at home. His name was Hatake Minato, in honor of her deceased brother. And, if his blonde hair and blue eyes were any indication, the baby would grow up to look exactly like his uncle. Maybe he would act like him, too, and have his determination and Kakashi's habit of being late. Maybe he would have a little sister, and love her like Raiden's brother had loved her. And he would grow up to be strong, caring, and maybe even the Hokage some day.

Kakashi squeezed her shoulders, and she looked up at him. He wasn't watching her, but she knew that he was telling her how much he cared for her even if he didn't want to say it. She leaned further into his embrace as they approached the gates to the Hokage temple. Even though they were married, and Kakashi had his own house that they could live in, Raiden preferred to stay in the private apartment-like area her brother and she had. Besides, it just made going overnight to Kakashi's house that much better.

The two guards at the gate waved merrily as they approached, and Raiden grinned wider. "Hey, guys!"

"Morning, Raiden, Kakashi," the first guard said. "Your little boy was just down here. Tried to get this bum's hat off his head, but he wouldn't let him."

Raiden pretended to scowl at the second guard, but she knew here eyes were twinkling. "Shame on you!" She shook her finger at him, and he smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. It was just so…annoying? And…" The second guard couldn't find the word, and the first chuckled.

"Degrading is what he means," he supplied, and the other whacked him upside the head. Kakashi shook his head, and Raiden patted each guard on the shoulder.

"Don't worry," she told them. "Soon enough he'll want to come out and play ninja, and then you'll have some trouble on your hands." She laughed as she said, "He's going to be the next great Hokage! After Naruto, of course."

By now, no one was stunned by her easy reference to the blonde boy. The secret of his family was still well-kept amongst those who could be trusted with it, and since Naruto had yet to return from his training with Jiraiya, no one had opened their big mouth and blabbed about it. She was anticipating Naruto's return, and every time his name passed through her lips her stomach would tighten with nerves. She really, really hoped that he would be accepting when he came back, that he wouldn't hate her for what she'd done to him. And maybe now, he would be able to see why she'd done what she'd done, and why the Fourth had had to sacrifice himself for the village. At least, she hoped so.

With Kakashi trailing along a few steps behind, Raiden hurried into the temple, up the stairs, down a few hallways, and through a doorway to the little area where she and her brother had been housed. She picked her way down that hall until she reached her (and Kakashi's) bedroom door and opened it.

The light was already on, and there was a traveling bag on the floor, but that wasn't what made Raiden gasp. Sitting on her bed, little Minato bouncing on his lap, looking three years older, was Naruto. His blonde hair stuck up at strange angles as always, and his blue eyes glittered as he played with his cousin. The little baby who so looked like him giggled and waved tiny fists around in excitement. Raiden felt frozen in the doorway—how had Naruto gotten here without her knowing? What was he doing here? Was he still angry at her, if he ever had been? And who had given him her child?

"N-Naruto?" she whispered, and the blonde looked up. A crooked, trademark-Naruto grin spread across his face and he stood, little Minato on his hip. The baby cooed and tugged gently on Naruto's hair. When Naruto came in front of her, she had to look up to get a good look of his face. He had grown—a lot, for he was now taller than she was. His goofy grin was still in place, as always, and his never-changing blue eyes sparkled with happiness.

He reached out and pulled her into a one-armed hug, his cousin still in his arms. Raiden hugged him back, surprised. She wasn't surprised by his sudden appearance in her room, or by his obvious adoration for his cousin, or that he was actually hugging her, voluntarily. She was stunned by how much he resembled his father.

She took a breath—they smelled the same, and they felt the same. He was as tall as his dad had been, and hugging him felt almost like she was hugging Minato. And, if she closed her eyes and focused on only sight and smell, it was exactly like the last time she'd been in the same room as her nephew and her brother at the same time. The day before he'd sacrificed himself, Minato had called her into his room, and they'd talked. Just talked, about nothing, really. About their parents that she'd never known, about the fun times they'd shared, the laughs and the ice cream and the movies and the pillow fights, the tickle wars and the sparring matches, the ramen shop, just reminiscing, until they'd come to the most important topic.

Minato had asked her what she would do if he was gone. She'd replied, without hesitation, that she would cease to exist. In a physical sense, she'd still be there, walking and moving and eating and performing normal daily tasks, but in an emotional sense, she wouldn't. She'd be gone, her body an empty puppet forced along day by day to do what the former occupant would normally. When she'd finished her solemn proclamation, he'd cringed and promised her that no matter what may happen to him, that she would move on and be what she was destined to be—a great ninja.

And then, before she'd left, he'd stood with her and pulled her into a one-armed hug, pressing her against his chest. She'd hugged him back, a feeling of dread rising in her chest, and told him goodnight. He'd stopped her, and told her that if anything ever happened to him, he wanted her to have Naruto. And the whole time, Naruto had been resting on his dad's hip, cooing and making baby noises.

Now here she was, hugging the same little baby all grown up, willing the tears not to come. Naruto released her, probably sensing her emotional state, and held the little baby up in front of him. Wide blue eyes blinked back at him, and little Minato smiled, then yawned. Naruto chuckled.

"Reminds me of his daddy," he said, and Kakashi scoffed, holding his hands out for the little boy. Naruto handed him over, baby-talking to the child, and Kakashi rocked him back and forth in his arms. Raiden looked fondly at the father-son moment before turning back to the young man in front of her. He was staring solemnly at her now, and she knew they were about to have a discussion.

"Um, I'm going to take little Minato here to the kitchen and fix myself a sandwich, k?" Kakashi said, and left before either of them could answer.

Raiden took a deep breath, walked over to the bed, and sat down, suddenly feeling tired. Naruto sat next to her, fiddling with something on his wrist that she chose to ignore. She was almost afraid to look at him, afraid that she might see resentment and hate in his gorgeous blue eyes. But she forced herself to, and when she glanced up, she saw him looking at her.

"You know," Naruto began, tilting his head to the side, "when you took me to your room that day, I honestly didn't know what to think." He chuckled lightly. "You had hated me, or at least it seemed like you had, forcing me to practice as hard as I could and talking down to me all the time. Ugh, I couldn't stand you, to be honest."

"Gee, thanks," she muttered, looking down again. Great, she'd really been mean to him.

"No, no, its okay," Naruto said, and went on, "But anyway, you definitely made an impact on me. I saw the picture of you and the Fourth, and when you told me that you were his sister, I couldn't believe you. You looked too much like, well, like me for it to be true. Yeah, I'm not dumb. I noticed that we looked alike, with the blonde hair, blue eyes, and stubborn attitude. Of course, according to your letter, I'm more like my mom.

"Once I read your letter, and pervy-sage and I were on our way, I had a lot of thinking to do. You really seemed sincere, really sorry that you'd abandoned me, and that you wished it had been different."  
"I was! I am!" Raiden exclaimed, becoming panicky.

"Can you let me finish? Geez!"

"Sorry," she giggled, unable to help herself. He sounded so much like Kushina it was insane.

"Anyway," he said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms stubbornly, "as I was saying before I got interrupted," he glared at Raiden, "I thought you were really sorry. So I asked Jiraiya, and he said that you went through a really rough time after your brother died and you got yourself all stressed and upset, so much that you forgot about your promise and what your brother really wanted. So you struck out in the only way you could—you abandoned me and watched as I was taunted and spited."

Raiden shuddered at the same moment Naruto did. She felt terrible about having allowed such torture to go on to an innocent child. It hadn't been his fault, it never was. She should've raised him like her nephew and allowed him to be normal, like everyone else, despite her excuses and venomous revenge plots.

"But I don't blame you, I swear," Naruto said, surprising her. Really? He didn't blame her? "Oh, and what did you mean about my mother being a pistol? Was she really that terrible?"

"Hell yeah she was that bad!" Raiden answered without hesitation, then clapped a hand over her mouth. "Sorry. But she was. From what I heard—because I didn't know her when she was a kid—she loved to play practical jokes, push her teachers to their last nerves, and just be a general pain in the butt. Like you!"

"Hey!"

"It's true and you know it is!" Raiden claimed, pointing her finger at Naruto, who glared, then laughed.

"Yeah, I know." He sighed, taking on a far-off look. "What else did she do?" He was talking about Kushina.

Raiden took a breath and thought for a moment. "Kushina? Hmm. Well, as far back as my memories go, I remember her as a strong Jounin from the whirlpool country, and a spitfire of a woman. She didn't take any crap from anyone, and," she giggled, "the first time she met Minato, whew, did he have a bruise."

"What happened?" Naruto wanted to know, looking eager and interested. "What did she do to him?" Raiden understood his enthusiasm—he had never known a single thing about his parents, other than that they'd died in the Kyuubi attack. He was thirsty for information.

"Minato and I were in the market," she said, remembering the day perfectly, like it had been yesterday. "I was only thirteen at the time, and we were out shopping for, oh, what was it, oh, yeah, we were looking for tomatoes, and these special peppers Minato needed for his salsa. He could make salsa, but if you asked him to make a turkey sandwich he couldn't tell the turkey from the lettuce. Anyway, Kushina just happened to be at the same stand we were at, and Minato wanted the pepper she was about to buy, so he ever-so-politely asked for it. She glared, paid for it, and left.

"A few days later, we saw her again, this time slurping up ramen like no one's business. Minato and I couldn't do anything but stare, and when she left, we asked what her name was. No one knew. I chose to ignore it, but Minato was just so intrigued that he made us go looking for her. I went on my own way, and the next time I saw him, he was in an alley with her. She was pressed up against the wall as he attempted to flirt with her, is hand against the wall just above her shoulder. He was trying to be coy and cool and all that great stuff when out of nowhere, her knee hits him in a place where the sun doesn't shine and stalked off." Raiden shook her head. "He should've known better."

"Then…if she hit him and didn't like him very much, why did they get together and get married?" Naruto wanted to know, looking troubled. Raiden put her hand on top of his.

"Minato fell in love the moment she kicked him in the groin. I don't know how, or why, but he did, and from then on, there was no turning back. He followed her around, bought her gifts, and tried to win her heart every day. And I was stuck tagging along, carrying all the things he bought for her and wanted to give her."  
"When did she finally give in?" Naruto asked, still not understanding. Raiden smiled and squeezed his hand. She wanted him to know everything about his parents, no matter how much pain it caused her. And they were getting closer to the part she wasn't comfortable talking about.

"She gave in when Minato challenged her to a fight," she replied, looking off into a time she wished she could return to. "He knew how much of a tomboy and a loudmouth she was, and, since he didn't know her name, he made a bet. If she could beat him, he would leave her alone. If he won, she would tell him her name and agree on a date.

"And guess what? She handed his butt to him on a silver platter." Naruto stared at her, wide-eyed, and she laughed. "Yep. And do you know what she said to him?" He shook his head. "She said, 'My name is Uzumaki Kushina, and you'd better not forget it!' Now who does that sound like?"

Naruto flushed, and Raiden laughed. The blonde muttered, "I do not sound like that." Raiden scoffed, much to his displeasure, and he wrinkled his nose. "So they just sort of fell for each other from there?"

"Yep. She went on the date with him, and the rest is just history. Well, not a very well-known history, but I was there. And even when I knew her she was still a spitfire who loved to play practical jokes."

Naruto was silent for a moment, pondering this over. Then his face turned stony and serious as he asked, "What about my father? What was he like?"

Raiden bit her lip, unsure of how to answer. She chose her words carefully before she said, "Minato, your father, was a strong, independent, loving man who would do anything for the things he loved."

"Like the village." Naruto's voice was almost bitter, but there was more sorrow in it than hate. Raiden rubbed his arm consolingly, knowing just how he felt, and feeling worse herself. No one would miss Minato as much as she did, even if Naruto felt an empty hole in his heart from his father's absence.

"Yes, like the village, and like you and Kushina. And me." She took a shaky breath. "He did what he did because he loved us, and wanted us to live on, even if we had to get along without him. And don't say that he didn't care about you, or that he only used you to defeat the Kyuubi. He did it to make a better life for us. And he did it because the village needed him."

"I understand that," Naruto whispered, then looked hard at the ground, "but why couldn't he have left me something, other than an aunt that didn't want me?" She winced, but she deserved it, and held up a hand to stop Naruto's apology. She then stood, went to her closet, and dug around until she found the box she was looking for. Tears welled up in her eyes at the familiar handwriting on the cardboard, and she gently touched the faded ink before standing and bringing the box over to Naruto. She placed it on the bed between them, sat Indian style, and opened it.

Inside there was a menagerie of things. There were several papers, a velvet box, something wrapped in tissue paper, and a notebook, among other items. Raiden reached inside, ran her fingers over the velvet box, and reached for the tissue-wrapped bit. She brought it onto her lap and carefully unfolded the thin, aged paper. It crinkled under her touch as she withdrew the item from its binds.

The metal of the headband glinted dully in the light her room offered. Its black cloth fell in silky waves across her knees, and she touched the Konoha symbol engraved on it. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw her brother's face, the headband displayed proudly on his forehead. His figure falling to the ground, his head hitting the dusty road, his headband glittering in the strange sunlight.

She swallowed hard and handed the headband to Naruto. "This was his. He was buried with the one Jiraiya gave him, and they told me I could keep this one, among more stuff of his." She sniffed as Naruto ran his hands over the metal and studied every inch of it. She knew what he was thinking—his father had worn this, fought with this emblazoned across his forehead. And he was holding it.

Once again she delved inside the box and resurfaced with some of the papers. Leafing through them slowly, she recognized each one. His birth certificate, his death certificate, his diploma of sorts for becoming a Jounin, and an envelope of notes he'd left for her. Each one she had memories, the kind, brotherly words he used, the way he teased her in his neat handwriting, everything. She handed them to Naruto, who looked through them, staring at the notes in wonder.

"He really sounds like he was a good older brother," he said, placing the notes and the papers on top of the headband. Raiden nodded, unable to talk, and reached for the velvet box. She set it aside, to look at later, when she was alone. Naruto didn't ask what was inside, and she appreciated it. The contents of the velvet box were between herself and her brother, and she had never opened it before. She didn't want to know what was in it, not yet.

There was a tassel from the end of the sword Minato used, the one he'd passed down to his sister. She'd placed the tassel in a safe place, to prevent it from harm. Naruto looked at it, probably wondering how his father had known swords craft. The rest of the contents consisted of a ring (Minato and Raiden's father's ring), a kunai with one of his trademark seals on the end, and the notebook, which Raiden took out and flipped through. She stopped on the last entry, made the morning Minato had sacrificed himself. She tilted it so that she and Naruto could both read the page.

_Today will be the day that I shall destroy the Kyuubi demon, and seal it away inside my son. This demon has caused enough havoc on our village, killing off the innocent, and my best men. I intend to send it to a place where it will be used for the right reasons. My little boy, Naruto, I'm sorry I have to do this to you._

_It's not going to be easy, Naruto. Those who possess a demon inside of them have always been shunned from society. But you're going to be a strong ninja, I can tell just by looking in your eyes. When I found out that I was going to have a child, I couldn't have been happier, and the first time I saw you, I knew you were going to be great at everything you tried. I know that will be true. _

_You're going to be teased, shunned, hated by everyone you encounter. But don't take it to heart. There will always be someone there for you to befriend, to depend on. I'll always be there for you, Naruto, even if it seems like you're all alone._

_Raiden, my sister, and your aunt, is someone you can count on being there for you, but later in life. After I die, she'll go into seclusion. I know it will seem harsh, but that's how she thinks. Raiden has never had anyone other than me to be a parent to her, and once I'm gone, she will feel as if she doesn't have anyone. She'll leave the village, probably, and stay gone for a while. But I don't want you to be angry at her. She's the sweetest, most determined person I have ever met (other than your mother), and she loves you. _

_I'm sorry to say that this small note is going to come to an end. I can hear Raiden running down the hall now, and I know that she's not going to be happy when she hears of my decision. I wish I could see you grow up, and watch you struggle through the trials you're bound to go through. There's only one thing I have left to say. To live is to die, Naruto, and to die is to live. Don't forget that._

_Love,_

_Daddy_

Raiden couldn't stop the wave of tears that flooded into her eyes, and let them run down her cheeks in streams. She wiped furiously at her face, hoping to step the flow, but it didn't work. Through her blurred vision, she saw Naruto wiping a tear from his eye and clear his throat. She sniffed, took a shaky breath, and handed Naruto the notebook.

"Here," she said huskily, "it's yours. And so is the headband. Wear it proudly, like your father would."

* * *

**WAHHH!!!!!!! It's over!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, well. It's okay, I'll just focus on my other two stories. Goodness I luv three day weekends. GIves me so much more time to do whatever I feel like. LIke typing. Yay! I hope you all enjoyed the ride, and I hope that you'll all review positively!**

**REVIEW! **

**Much luv (for now)**

**Nicola**


	14. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Okay, everyone's been asking what was in the velvet box. So...do you wanna know? Do you really wanna know? Alright, I'll tell you. In a second.

I wanted to thank everyone for their support in all of this, and their patience with my constantly busy and growing schedule, which prevents me from writing as much as i would like to. With school, my horse, FFA, FEA, Youth Group, Church Choir, Church, Sunday school, and Outreach team, I hardly have time to eat and shower!!! Wow, and I really appreciate that you stuck with me through this whole story, and kept encouraging me and stuff. And I'd recognize each and every one of you if I had the patience (and was awake enough) to go back, write down all your names, and add them to this.

Soooo...here's what you all want: The item that was in the velvet box was...and this really, really makes me sad...and makes my heart ache...and makes me want to cry...okay, it is:

**MINATO'S HALF OF THE NECKLACE**

Coupled with a note that said something like,

_Raiden,_

_This is the other half of our necklace. Keep it, and give it to someone who will be with you for the rest of your life, and don't think that I 've left you because I was not buried with the necklace. I still love you to death, you ramen-hog. _

_Love_

_Minato (AKA Mr. Hopeless)_


	15. SURPRISE!

**I have a surprise for you all!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, one of my loyal reviewers of Is Forever Enough, Fye Kurokawa, asked if she could draw a picture of Raiden, and I said yes. I think it's an amazing picture, so here's the link! Tell me what you think and I'll pass along comments go her!**

http://img. 


	16. Sorry, lol, here u go!

**I have a surprise for you all!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, one of my loyal reviewers of Is Forever Enough, Fye Kurokawa, asked if she could draw a picture of Raiden, and I said yes. I think it's an amazing picture, so here's the link! Tell me what you think and I'll pass along comments go her!**

**okay, type this into ur address box: **

**www. img. /albums/v287/HitaruHigakura/RaidenNamikaze.png**

there are spaces, so fix those, and ull be able to see it. stupid links...


	17. Maybe this will work

**I have a surprise for you all!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, one of my loyal reviewers of Is Forever Enough, Fye Kurokawa, asked if she could draw a picture of Raiden, and I said yes. I think it's an amazing picture, so here's the link! Tell me what you think and I'll pass along comments go her!**

**okay, type this into ur address box: **

**www. img. photobucket. com /albums/v287/HitaruHigakura/RaidenNamikaze.png**

there are spaces, so fix those, and ull be able to see it. stupid links...


	18. HALLELUAH!

**ALRIGHT! YOU KNOW WHAT?! GO LOOK IN MY PROFILE AND SEE THE PICTURE LINK! AAAUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!!**

Ahem. Sorry. Had to get that out of my system.

Computers are so annoying.

Thanks for the support during this...trying...time. Hehe.

Luv much (stressfully)

Nicola


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